Jury selection began Monday in Marion County for the accused ringleader in the brutal murder of 15-year-old Seath Jackson in 2011.
Prosecutors say Michael Bargo was the mastermind behind the plot to kill Jackson, who was lured to a Summerfield home where he was brutally beaten and shot to death. Jackson's remains were found burned and dismembered.
Bargo, now 21, was 18 when Jackson was killed.
Four other people involved in the murder have already been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison:
- Charlie Ely was 18 at the time of the murder. She was the first to be sentenced, in October 2011.
- Justin Soto, 20 at the time, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May 2012.
- Amber Wright, 15 at the time, was sentenced in August 2012.
- Kyle Hooper, 16 at the time, was also sentenced in August 2012 along with his sister, Wright.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Bargo, who allegedly fired the gun that shot Jackson.
According to Marion County deputies, Wright and Ely lured Jackson, who was Wright's ex-boyfriend, to Ely's home in Summerfield. Once inside, Jackson was hit on the head with a wooden object and shut multiple times. His body was then burned and dismembered, and his remains were hidden in paint containers.
The judge who sentenced Wright and Hooper called the plot "the single most cold, calculated, premeditated murder I have ever seen."
A jury was not seated Monday, but attorneys hope to have one seated Tuesday afternoon.