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Crime & Safety

Jury Selection Begins for Man Accused of Fatal Stabbing 25 Years Ago

The jury selection process starts today for a man accused of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend's mom in 1986.

After nearly 30 years, jury selection is scheduled to start today in the trial of a man accused of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend's mother in La Mesa.   

Marc Exter Jernigan, 44, was allegedly linked to the stabbing of June George on Aug. 8, 1986, through DNA evidence.

Witnesses testified at an earlier hearing that George disapproved of the defendant dating her then-19-year-old daughter, Kathy Keller. The couple broke up about a month before George was stabbed 78 times, according to the testimony.   

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George's body was found by Keller in the kitchen of their home in the 8800 block of Mariposa Street. 

Jernigan was arrested in February 2006, after tests matched his DNA to blood found on the bathroom towel at the crime scene, according to prosecutors.

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The defendant's blood was also found on a bedspread, George's purse and her eyeglass case, according to the District Attorney's Office.   

Jernigan, who was working as a real estate agent in Carmel Valley at the time of his arrest, faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted.

Jury selection was expected to continue into Thursday in the El Cajon
Courtroom of Judge Herbert Exarhos.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Updated at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, 2011.

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