Jury selection continues in murder trial

NEW HANOVER

Jury selection continues in trial

Seven jurors, five more to go.

Prosecutors and the defense team for Tyrone Delgado, charged with first-degree murder and burglary in the 1999 strangling of an FBI secretary, whittled down potential jurors to seven that both sides agree on. Five more and three alternates are still needed, and that process will take place Wednesday.

Onslow County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Charles Henry, who is presiding over this case, told the seven jurors to return on Thursday morning to begin the trial.

"It's a slow and deliberate process," Henry said.

Melissa Mooney, a 28-year-old single mother who had worked at the FBI since high school, was killed on Aug. 5, 1999, in her Castle Hayne home she had just bought.

On Tuesday, Public Defender Jennifer Harjo asked jurors whether they could fairly judge her client even after looking at nude photos of Mooney. She also questioned jurors about alcohol use and sex outside of marriage, issues that will come up during trial.

"I'm here to make sure he gets a fair trial," she said. "Just because he sits here with us, you agree he is innocent today and he gets to keep that innocence through this trial."

http://editors.starnewsonline.com/" target="_blank">Click here to read blogs by Veronica Gonzalez from the Delgado murder trial ...

- Veronica Gonzalez

NEW HANOVER

Educators to view film about dropouts

State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson will be in town Wednesday for a special preview of a documentary about the country's dropout rate.

From 3 to 5 p.m., Atkinson, other dignitaries and community leaders will join New Hanover County school officials at Freeman School of Engineering to see InsideOut. The documentary, created by The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation, aims to help educators and community leaders combat the escalating dropout rate.

The 52-minute documentary features prison inmates who tell personal stories of their regrets for not pursuing an education and graduating from high school.

The creator of the film, Shelley Stewart, will be present.

To learn more, visit www.mattiecstewart.org.

- Angela Mack

WILMINGTON

Get information about joint surgery

The public can get information about arthritis and joint replacement surgery Wednesday when a traveling medical training and education facility stops in Wilmington.

The Zimmer Mobile Learning Center will be at Wilmington Orthopaedic Group, 2716 Ashton Drive, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The free exhibit will focus on advancements in joint replacement surgeries and products as the number of total knee replacements and hip replacements procedures increase.

For more information, call Laura Colligan at 763-7344.

- Vicky Eckenrode