Jury selection starts Monday in Nestande case

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Jury selection starts Monday in the trial against Gabrielle Nestande in the May 2011 death of Courtney Griffin.

Nestande, the former Capitol aide who is charged with failure to stop and help and intoxication manslaughter in what police said was a hit-and-run crash, appeared in court on Thursday in the final pretrial proceeding.

Since the accident in May 2011, the Griffin family has been very vocal about harsher penalties when it comes to these types of incidents.

Bart Griffin, Courtney's father, spoke with KXAN after the hearing Thursday. He said the whole family has been waiting too long for justice.

"It's been over 20 months," said Griffin. "Everybody's ready for trial. We're ready to get this thing moving. We're ready for justice."

Authorities have said that Griffin died in the overnight hours and her body was discovered at daylight.

Nestande was identified as a suspect when her damaged vehicle was found in a parking lot near the crash site in Austin's Tarrytown neighborhood.

"She's at the forefront of our mind," said Griffin. "This has always been about Courtney and justice for Courtney."