DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — A jury has been selected for the trial of Richard Pierce, a man accused of killing his wife more than 40 years ago in Sturgeon Bay.
Pierce is facing charges of first-degree murder and disinterment of dead. According to court documents, Pierce’s wife at the time, Carol Jean, disappeared around September 5, 1975. They were married for nearly nine years.
According to previous reports, prosecutors charged Pierce back in 2018. The 2018 report said the charges were based largely on witnesses saying he seemed unhappy in their marriage, her comments to neighbors that she thought he was going to kill her, and other discrepancies in his story.
Carol Jean Pierce's body has never been found.
According to Door County Clerk of Courts office, the jury was selected Thursday morning. The trial is scheduled to start April 19 and last 16 days.
The jury will consist of 10 men and five women. Three of the jurors will serve as alternates.
