The homicide case against Maxwell Anderson, accused of brutally killing and dismembering a Milwaukee college student, remains on pace for a Dec. 9 trial date, said a prosecutor who plans to screen a larger-than-normal jury pool for the high-profile case.
Anderson, 33, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and arson of property other than a building in the slaying of Sade Robinson, 19.
Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan said at a final pre-trial hearing Wednesday he plans to enter roughly 500 exhibits and pieces of evidence as part of his case against the Milwaukee man at trial. He said he made no offers to Anderson, and that he expects the trial to run one to two weeks.
More: Confidential informant: Maxwell Anderson had plan to kill Sade Robinson month prior to death
Vance-Curzan and Anderson’s defense lawyer, Anthony D. Cotton, agreed to work together to craft questionnaires that will be used to screen potential jurors.
Circuit Court Judge Laura Crivello said a pool of up to 80 jurors will be vetted. Typically, jury pools of 30 to 40 people are called to serve before they are whittled down to a final panel of 12 to 14 jurors.
More: Got jury duty? Here’s what you need to know before you serve in a Wisconsin courthouse.
Attorneys are expected to return to court Nov. 22 for a jury status hearing to hammer out the final details ahead of jury selection.
“There are other trials going on around that time … but this is a priority case,” the judge said.
Members of Robinson’s family, including her mother, Sheena Scarbrough, were in the courtroom for the brief hearing.
Police and prosecutors believe Anderson killed Robinson at his home after the two met for a first date on April 1.
More: Sade Robinson case: Investigators find knife, ax, women’s clothes during search of Maxwell Anderson’s car, Milwaukee home
Body parts believed to that of Robinson’s were later discovered at various locations around Milwaukee County after she was reported missing April 2. An arm suspected to be Robinson’s also was found on a beach in Waukegan, Illinois.
Anderson was formally charged on April 12 in connection with the death of Robinson.
Robinson’s burned-out Honda Civic was found near West Lisbon Avenue and North 29th Street in Milwaukee on April 2.
More: Here’s a timeline of events in the Sade Robinson homicide, Maxwell Anderson arrest in Milwaukee
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee prosecutor: Maxwell Anderson’s case on pace for Dec. 9 trial date
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