Jury seated in Christian Martin trial

A jury was seated Wednesday morning in Hardin County in the trial of Pembroke triple-murder suspect Christian “Kit” Martin.

Judge John Atkins read the indictment to the morning jury pool and asked if anyone had heard of the case—which received much less publicity in the Elizabethtown area than in Southern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee.

None of the seated jurors had heard of Martin’s case, though some did need to be excused for health, family or work reasons.  They answered questions from both the defense and the prosecution concerning their abilities to remain objective and make determinations based on evidence.

The judge acknowledged serving on the jury will be a big commitment, as it’s expected to last until at least June 25.

The trial was moved to Hardin County to avoid jurors exposed to pre-trial publicity.

Martin is charged with three counts of murder, arson, attempted arson, first-degree burglary and three counts of tampering with physical evidence. Each count of the indictment alleges Martin acted “alone or in complicity with others or another.”

On November 18, 2015, Calvin Phillips was found shot to death in his home located on South Main Street in Pembroke. The bodies of Pamela Phillips and their neighbor, Edward Dansereau were found a few miles away in a corn field near Rosetown Road in a burned up car.

Opening statements and the calling of witnesses is set to begin Thursday afternoon with an 804 hearing concerning hearsay evidence set to take place in the morning hours.