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Jury selection is under way this morning in Kosciusko Circuit Court for the murder case of a Ligonier man accused of killing an Elkhart woman and leaving her burned remains in a Kosciusko County woods.
Christoval Dimas, 26, is on trial in the death of Crystal Gayle Homister, 22, of Elkhart.
Homister's burned remains - a partial skeleton - were found in April 2000 in a wooded area off CR 1050N on the east side of Lake Wawasee. Homister was reported missing Jan. 7, 2000, by family members who were concerned with her disappearance. Officials identified the skeleton as Homister's with the aid of a forensic odontologist. Later tests indicate that Homister died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Dimas was indicted by a grand jury in September 2000 on charges of murder, assisting a criminal and abuse of a corpse. The assisting a criminal charge was later dismissed and the jury will consider the two remaining charges against him.
Judge Rex Reed will preside over the case that is expected to take five days, beginning Monday.
Today was set aside for the sole purpose of seating a jury in the case. Fourteen jurors - 12 regular and two alternate - will hear the evidence in the case. An estimated 50 potential jurors will be questioned during the selection process.
