Jury seated in Norwood murder trial

SAN ANGELO, Texas (KXAN) - A jury of seven women and five men was seated Monday afternoon in the murder trial of Mark Norwood, who is accused of killing Christine Morton in 1986.

Testimony is scheduled to start Tuesday.

Norwood, who has a long criminal history was linked to the death of the Williamson County woman only after Michael Morton was exonerated of his wife's death thanks to DNA evidence. That same evidence pointed toward Norwood, a new suspect with a long criminal history.

The amount of exposure and publicity the case has received led to a change of venue from Williamson County to the remote west Texas city of San Angelo, where attorneys expect to have jury seated by close of business Monday and to begin opening arguments on Tuesday.

The 58-year-old Norwood, who arrived at the courthouse in a wheelchair, has a record that includes burglary, assault, and arson among others. The DNA evidence also led to him being a suspect in the 1988 murder of Debra Baker.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

Williamson County Judge Burt Carnes will preside over the trial at the Tom Green County Courthouse and has said he hopes the trial is completed by Good Friday.