Marathon County's victim-witness coordinator says the jury for the James Emerson trial has been selected.

Some motions are set for Friday morning with opening statements in the case coming right after.

The jury was selected in Iowa County in Southwestern Wisconsin because of pre-trail publicity.

The 44-year old Emerson is accused of the 1999 death of Rhonda Mertes.

Prosecutors say he beat her to death after luring Mertes to a vacant spot on downtown Wausau to try to sexually assault her.

Emerson was arrested in 2007 after improvements in forensic testing linked his DNA to the crime scene.