Durham murder trial begins without a body — jury selection underway for Darrius Tyson
Darrius Tyson faces murder charges in the 2022 disappearance of Shawn Burton, whose body has never been found. Jury selection began Monday in Durham, North Carolina.
Durham murder trial proceeds despite missing body as jury selection gets underway
The murder trial of Darrius Tyson, a Durham man charged in connection with the 2022 death of Shawn Burton, moved forward Monday with jury selection beginning in court, wral.com reports.
Burton was last seen in March 2022. His truck was later recovered in Warren County with blood inside, but his body has never been located. Prosecutors allege that Ring doorbell camera footage from Duke Street, captured the night Burton disappeared, shows him entering a building with a key while three men followed behind him carrying guns. The state contends that one of those three men was Tyson.
Tyson was first arrested in May 2022 on kidnapping charges and subsequently indicted for murder in February 2023. Two co-defendants, Tariq Henderson and Brentley Yancey, have also been indicted for murder in the same case. Tyson has been awaiting trial for more than four years since his initial arrest.
On Monday morning, Tyson was formally arraigned before the full pool of potential jurors. He pleaded not guilty to murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and kidnapping. Judge Leonard Wiggins reminded the panel that Tyson is presumed innocent and that no evidence had yet been presented.
Pretrial motions addressed before jury brought in
Before jurors entered the courtroom, Judge Wiggins heard pretrial motions from both sides. Defence attorney Daniel Meier requested additional time to review case files, citing confusion caused by duplicate documents generated after two separate case numbers were used. "We've gotten it so many times in so many forms," Meier said, noting the case involves more than 3,000 files. "We're just asking for a little more time to make sure we have everything organised and duplicated."
Assistant District Attorney Mary Jude Darrow acknowledged technological difficulties with the disclosure system. "I don't know that I can rely on the system I have been ordered to rely on when things are bouncing back or not getting through to defence," Darrow said. "I believe we have released everything. I will not swear on a Bible that they have everything."
Judge Wiggins characterised the problem as one of organisation and identification rather than bad faith. Because prosecutors had "made a good faith effort to release and disclose all discovery to the defendant," Wiggins ruled that the trial proceed without further delay.
Jail conduct and gang references excluded from trial
Separate pretrial matters also came before the court. In 2024, allegations emerged that Tyson had used his influence while held at the Durham County Detention Center to obtain sex and drugs, and had impregnated two jail workers. He was subsequently transferred to Central Prison in Raleigh. Both the prosecution and defence agreed those allegations would not be raised during the murder trial.
The defence additionally sought to exclude any references to gang membership or gang-related activity, arguing the charges bear no relation to gang crime. The state countered that, although the murder was not investigated as gang-related, Tyson had voluntarily identified himself as a "king Blood" in North Carolina during initial questioning with police. Judge Wiggins said the court would issue a "limiting instruction" governing how any reference to gang activity may be considered by jurors.
Jury selection and the question of no body
Jury selection began in the late morning. Judge Wiggins posed standard questions to the pool of twelve potential jurors, asking whether they recognised the defendant, the victim, or any potential witnesses.
ADA Darrow questioned prospective jurors on their ability to distinguish between a planned action and a reaction in the context of first-degree murder, whether they could apply the felony definition of murder, and whether they could accept a mandatory life sentence upon a guilty verdict.
Darrow also told the panel directly: "I will tell you up front, we do not have the body. Knowing that, do you feel that you could consider there was a murder, or would you say 'no body, no murder'?" The defence objected to the question, and the judge upheld the objection, ruling it went "a little bit too much into the facts."
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)