NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Jury selection is underway in the trial of a man accused of killing a Peninsula mother and her infant daughter whose bodies have never been found.
Dozens of potential jurors answered questions Tuesday from the judge and attorneys in the case against Carlos Johnson Jr., who is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Keir Johnson and her daughter, Chloe.
One of the questions asked of potential jurors was whether they were familiar with a photo of Keir and Chloe Johnson — the same image used in an Amber Alert issued in 2017 when the mother and daughter disappeared.
Potential jurors were also asked whether they have strong opinions on abortion. It is not exactly clear what the relevance is in the case, but court documents previously reported on by News 3 say Johnson had searched online for topics including accidental baby deaths, forced fatherhood, and how to avoid child support.
The bodies of Keir and Chloe have never been recovered. Johnson — Keir's ex and Chloe's father — was charged with first-degree murder in their deaths last year.
Jury selection is not expected to be finalized until Thursday afternoon.
The trial is expected to last several weeks. The Commonwealth says it has nearly 40 potential witnesses to call. One of them is Teir Pettway, Keir's twin sister.
"I'm optimistic. We're just praying that it goes in our favor because it's been a long time coming. It's like we're finally here. We're starting to get this over with, so we're just hopeful," Pettway said.
The defense attorney said he had no witnesses to announce at this time.
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