Jury selection

complete for murder trial
By Melanie Davis
Melanie@mountaintimes.com

Jury selection is complete and the presenation of evidence is set to begin in the capital murder trial of Neil Matthew Sargeant, 26.

He is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon and burning of personal property in connection to the death of Stephen William Harringon, 19.

Harrington’s body was discovered at 7:45 on the morning of Nov. 8, 2005 in the trunk of his own Subaru parked on Sleepy Hollow Lane in the Foscoe community.

His arms were bound behind his back, and his face wrapped in duct tape. Harrington’s body had been set aflame in the trunk of the car.

The state medical examiner determined the cause of death to be asphyxiation due to the duct tape over his mouth and nose.

Sargeant, and two other co-defendants were charged within 24 hours of the discovery of the body.
The first co-defendant to stand trial was Kyle Quentin Triplett, 23, in mid-September.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, a lesser offense, first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, burning of personal property and conspiracy with Neil Sargeant to sell and/or deliver a schedule II controlled substance (cocaine). He was sentenced to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

The third co-defendant, Matthew Brandon Dalrymple, 22, has agreed to testify against his co-defendants in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table. He will stand trial at a later, yet undetermined, date.

Sargeant's trial began on Monday with jury selection. Questioning and elimination of potential jurors continued through the week, exhausting nearly two full juror pools of approximately 50 people each.

As of 3 p.m. on Friday, both the prosecution and the defense had selected the necessary 12 jurors and three alternates to hear the case. A majority of the jury is female.

The trial will resume at 10 a.m. Monday and is expected to last two to three weeks. The prosecution will present evidence first, followed by the defense.

The jury will then decide the guilt or innocence of Sargeant. If the jury decides on guilty, the prosecution and defense will present further evidence of aggravating and mitigating factors before the jury decides the sentence. Sargeant may face the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole if found guilty.