Jury selection under way in Marengo murder trial

Jury selection began this morning in the first-degree murder trial of a Blairstown man accused of shooting and killing a 35-year-old woman, who was living with him and his family in 2009.

Tonch Weldon, 39, is accused in the fatal shooting of Amy Gephart, who was shot once with a 20-gauge shotgun before turning the gun on himself in his home June 7, 2009 in his home.

Iowa County jurors watched an orientation video this morning before jury selection got under way. There were 90 residents called for the jury pool, and 77 reported this morning.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Douglas Russell said there may be some individual questioning of potential jurors to find out if they have knowledge of the case or if they know the defendant and the alleged victim. This questioning will be conducted in chambers.

Gephart had been living with Weldon, his wife Amanda and their two children after she lost her job in Marengo, according to friends and co-workers interviewed by SourceMedia Group after the incident.

Weldon recovered from his gunshot injury after several months of medical treatment.

Opening statements will likely be Wednesday. Reporter Trish Mehaffey will live blog the trial from the courtroom as soon as testimony begins. Readers/viewers can follow along and ask questions or provide comments. The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Police and attorneys have provided little details about the circumstances surrounding the slaying, but on Monday the judge granted the defense's motion to allow the attorneys to tell jurors about Weldon's "swinger" lifestyle with his wife, which included Gephart. The defense claimed Weldon, his wife and Gephart had a consensual three-way relationship, which could show lack of malice and jealousy.

In his ruling on the motion, Sixth Judicial District Judge Douglas Russell said the sexual history "might be relevant to elements of murder in the first" and will be allowed during trial.

Russell also ruled the defense cannot present text messages between Weldon and Gephart and an expert witness to testify how alcohol could have affected Weldon's state of mind at the time of the shooting. The expert is a forensic toxicologist, but the alleged events are "not within his area of expertise," the judge stated.