Jury selection begins in Alexandria multiple murder trial

FAIRFAX, Va. - FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) -- Jury selection has begun in the murder trial of a Virginia man accused of killing three Alexandria residents over the course of a decade.

Charles Severance is charged in the shootings of Nancy Dunning, wife of then-Sheriff James Dunning, in 2003, transportation planner Ron Kirby in 2013 and music teacher Ruthanne Lodato last year.

The trial was moved from Alexandria to Fairfax because of pretrial publicity in Alexandria and because of widespread fear the killings caused there.

The trial could take six weeks. Jury selection began Monday with 100 potential jurors questioned, and will continue Tuesday.

Prosecutors say Severance, a former Alexandria resident with a history of erratic behavior, committed the killings as revenge against what he perceived as the city's ruling class after losing a child custody case.