Lincoln County Circuit Court is gearing up for a murder trial that could last up to two weeks. The trail of Mark Bucki, charged with killing his wife in April 2013, is slated to begin with jury selection on Monday, April 7, and run through April 17 – or longer, if necessary.
The trail will be held in Lincoln County, with Lincoln County jurors and presided over by Lincoln County Judge Jay Tlusty.
A total of 163 potential jurors received a supplemental questionnaire about the case. As of Thursday, more than half had been excused or stricken from consideration for a variety of reasons. The 80 remaining potential jurors will be called in Monday. Jury selection is expected to take most, if not all, of the day on Monday.
The 15 selected jurors, including three alternates, will be sequestered during the trial. They will not have access to newspapers, radio, television or anything that can connect to the internet.
Extensive lists of potential witnesses have been submitted, including 77 for the prosecution and 72 for the defense. Those lists had been pared down considerably, but it was unknown Thursday how many witnesses will actually be called to testify by either side. One last motions hearing was scheduled for Friday.
Many motions have been entered by both sides in recent weeks, relating mainly to the types of testimony that can be given during the trial.
Bucki faces felony charges of 1st Degree Intentional Homicide, Hiding a Corpse and Strangulation and Suffocation. Mark Bucki reported his wife, Anita, missing from their Town of Corning home April 26 of last year. Her body was found May 10 in Taylor County and Mark Bucki was arrested and charged with her murder three days later.