Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 27/05) - Julie Finnamore spent most of Tuesday sitting on a plastic folding chair at the Yellowknife Multiplex, busily knitting while the pre-trial wranglings of a sensational murder case unfolded just metres away.

"This is fairly boring," said Finnamore, a bank employee. "There is not much to do besides knitting and reading."

Finnamore was one of nearly 275 Yellowknifers who packed into a high-school sized gymnasium at the Multiplex for the opening day of jury selection in the first degree murder trial of Gerald Delorme. The process ended Wednesday morning, when 12 jurors and two alternates were selected.

The stocky, black-haired Delorme is accused of killing reputed drug dealer Justin Hai Van Vo, whose charred remains were discovered near the Yellowknife River bridge in July, 2003.

Court officers issued nearly 900 summons for the selection process, though hundreds of people were excused before the procedure began Tuesday morning.

Those who were in attendance sat in folding chairs while a clerk picked 12 names from a small, wooden box roughly every half-hour. Those selected were escorted to the second floor of the Multiplex where they were questioned by lawyers.

Tedious process

"So far, there have been five of these," Finnamore said after one roll call, while continuing to knit. While Finnamore said the selection process was tedious, its purpose is important. "This is big responsibility," Finnamore said. "You could have his fate in your hands."

But several other potential jurors who spoke to Yellowknifer were frustrated by a day and a half of waiting.

"This is a financial burden," said private contractor Ron Kungl. "Every hour I spend here, I lose money. It's not like I work for the government and get paid no matter what."

Court officials sought a large jury pool because of the sensational facts surrounding the case.

Three convicted

Three other men have already been convicted in connection with the murder - Francis Yukon, Richard Tutin and Dale Coutoreille - and lawyers want what they described as an uncontaminated jury.

Publication bans were placed on the facts surrounding the three other cases, the earliest of which were settled in the spring of 2004 when Tutin and Coutoreille pleaded guilty to accessory to murder. Yukon pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February.

Despite efforts to keep the details secret, the facts of the case are already widely known, said one man.

"This is Yellowknife," said Ryan, who with held his last name. "Word gets around."

The Crown's office declined to comment on the selection process. The trial is scheduled to being early next month.