MONROE — Jury Selection took up the entire first day of the first-degree murder trial Monday of Logan Kruckenberg-Anderson, accused of fatally shooting his newborn infant twice in the head in January 2021 near Albany.
But a panel of 15 was ultimately seated in Green County Circuit Court.
With the defendant just 16 at the time of the crime, the tragedy stunned the community and led to Kruckenberg-Anderson’s immediate arrest and a series of confessions to police and investigators that are likely to play a key role in the long-awaited trial in Circuit Court.
Prosecutors contend that instead of placing baby Harper up for adoption — as he allegedly told the teen mother he planned to do — the defendant in 2021 hiked into nearby woods and killed the just days old child, leaving her in the snow.
Ultimately, he was charged as an adult with first degree intentional homicide and transporting, hiding, or burying the child’s body.
Kruckenberg-Anderson faces a maximum possible sentence of life in state prison if convicted.
The mother has not been charged.
The case was delayed for nearly four years through appeals in regards to what evidence would be allowed, like his initial confession as a minor without legal representation. A now much older-looking Kruckenberg-Anderson walked into the courtroom Monday, Oct. 27 in a grey suit, white shirt, and tie — bearing less of a resemblance to the boyish defendant who looked barely 16 in his first mugshot and court appearance in 2021.
About 100 jurors were summoned for his high-profile trial, and they arrived Monday by bus, having been shuttled from a parking/staging area at the fairgrounds. Both courtrooms were used to handle the capacity jury pool, as lawyers began the tedious “voir dire” process of seating a jury before Circuit Judge Jane M. Bucher.
One-by-one jurors were questioned and dismissed, with several taken out of one of the main courtrooms for more intense questioning based on answers to general questions about knowledge of the case, the defendant, its key participants, and other issues.
“Your candor is essential,” Bucher told the jurors.
Jurors also were asked to probe their hearts to determine if they could sit through a trial involving the murder of a baby and several admitted that they could not. One prospective juror, a middle-aged woman, left the courtroom sobbing at the prospect.
Another juror, a state corrections officer, told the court he had concerns about his safety by serving on the jury. At least two prospective jurors said they had read so much about the case in the news, they could not possibly be fair to the defendant.
Opening arguments were expected to start Tuesday, October 28.
