MONROE — Potential jurors across Green County are responding to court questionnaires in preparation for one the most high-profile murder trials to play out here in years — the trial of a 16-year-old Albany man for allegedly shooting his newborn twice in the head before leaving her naked in a patch of snowy woods.

The January 2021 crime shocked the community, and led to the arrest of Logan Kruckenberg-Anderson, then 16, who was charged as an adult with first degree intentional homicide and transporting, concealing, or burying the child’s body.  

Jury selection is now underway in earnest for his trial, with the defense having lost a motion for change of venue — essentially a bid to move the trial due to pre-trial publicity. 

 As the legal case played out in local and state appellate courts in recent years, the teen has essentially grown up in Green County jail custody. 

At issue in one of the legal motions was that some of Kruckenberg-Anderson’s initial statements to police on the night of his arrest were ruled inadmissible, largely due to issues of Miranda warnings and custody. 

The teen was interviewed in several locations about the murder, including Albany Police Dept. and Rock County Jail. And the judge allowed much of the alleged confession to remain.

Kruckenberg-Anderson faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison if convicted.

According to court records, the county will seek an additional 40 jurors for the pool, ultimately needing to seat 12, plus three alternates. During the “voir dire” process of seating a jury, each side probes for potential panelists for bias or other disqualifying factors. And as part of that process, each attorney will be able to strike seven potential jurors from those able to serve, records indicate.

In the most recent hearing last Friday, Assistant District Attorney Laura Kohl appeared as lead prosecutor of the case, along with Assistant Attorney General Adrienne E. Blais from the State of Wisconsin. Attorney Kevin Smith is representing Kruckenberg-Anderson. 

“Atty. Kohl does not object to additional jurors being summoned, but does not feel all 60 need to be summoned,” Court records said, quoting the lawyer. “Court orders an additional 40 jurors to be summoned.”

That 40 is in addition to the 80 potential jurors who already were notified that they may have to serve and to complete questionnaires for possible consideration, according to court records. 

District Attorney Craig Nolen has repeatedly declined to answer questions about the case, citing the upcoming trial and his office’s longstanding policy of not commenting on cases prior to trial.

The trial is scheduled to start on October 27 before Circuit Judge Jane M. Bucher, and could last 10 or more days.

Kruckenberg-Anderson’s extended time in jail has been uneventful, save for an additional felony charge he picked up last July — possession of an illegal article. The defendant allegedly disassembled a jail issued razor blade, and allegedly hid the blade under a mattress. Razor blades are counted and collected after use for inmate and guard safety. Thus, the missing piece of blade prompted a shake-down in the facility.

The shocking story of the newborn’s murder has made national headlines in such outlets as People Magazine, CourtTV, The Milwaukee Journal, The Daily Beast and the Daily Mail of the United Kingdom. Indeed, the infant’s murder and other high-profile cases helped prompt state officials to pass Safe Haven Laws bill aimed at informing Wisconsin teenagers of their options for safely leaving infants without legal action.

“Obviously this is the worst that it gets, first degree intentional homicide,” the late judge Thomas Vale said at the time of the defendant’s arraignment in published reports. “You look at the penalties, lifetime imprisonment.” 

The young mother in the case was not charged with a crime.