WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV was in the courtroom Wednesday for day four of jury selection in the trial of Semmie Williams Jr., the man accused of killing 14-year-old Ryan Rogers in Palm Beach Gardens in November 2021.
WATCH: Jury selected after 4 days
Wednesday morning the jury selection process restarted, after the court failed to reach the required 12 jurors. The court asked to reserve 60 jurors for today.
The required 12 jurors were finally set, with one more juror selected Wednesday. The jury is made up of eight women and four men.
Eight alternates were also selected instead of four, due to issues getting in contact four jurors who'd already been selected — something the judge says she hasn't seen before.
Williams has been front and center during the past four days, personally weighing in on the jury selection, telling the judge Wednesday he just wants a fair trial.
When the potential jurors were asked if they knew anything about the case, the majority responded to varying degrees that they did, whether that was from news reports when it happened, or more recently.
PREVIOUS: Court runs out of potential jurors
Williams is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of Rogers, who was riding his bike near his home in Palm Beach Gardens in 2021 when police said he was randomly attacked and stabbed to death by Williams, who had no ties to the community or the teen.
Opening statements will start Thursday. The state said earlier this week they will be bringing in roughly 22 witnesses, including Rogers' family members.
The trial is now expected to end on Jan. 22.
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