MONTREAL -- Seven people -- five women and two men -- were chosen Monday on the first day of jury selection at the murder trial of the man accused in the deadly 2012 shooting at Parti Quebecois election headquarters.
Fourteen people will be picked to hear testimony, although only 12 will end up deliberating Richard Henry Bain's fate.
Bain, 65, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of lighting technician Denis Blanchette outside a nightclub on Sept. 4, 2012, as then-PQ leader Pauline Marois was toasting her party's election win.
Bain also faces various charges of attempted murder as well as fire-related counts. He entered new pleas of not guilty on Monday.
About 50 witnesses will testify at the trial, which is expected to last up to two months.
One of those scheduled to take the stand is Dave Courage, a stagehand who was wounded by a bullet that night. One of the charges of attempted murder against Bain stems from that shooting.
The trial has been delayed numerous times, most recently in May for Bain to undergo surgery, but Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer was informed last week the accused is ready to proceed.
Cournoyer is the judge who oversaw the high-profile first-degree murder trial of Luka Rocco Magnotta, who was found guilty by a jury in 2014 in the killing and dismemberment of Chinese student Jun Lin.
