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Opening Statements Set in Porch Shooting Trial

After two days of jury selection, lawyers are poised to give opening statements in the trial of a Detroit-area man who opened his front door and shot an unarmed woman, killing her.

DETROIT (AP) — After two days of jury selection, lawyers are poised to give opening statements in the trial of a Detroit-area man who opened his front door and shot an unarmed woman, killing her.

Theodore Wafer, an airport employee with no criminal record, is charged with second-degree murder. Wafer says he heard pounding at the door and fired his shotgun in self-defense in the death of 19-year-old Renisha McBride last November.

Opening statements are expected Wednesday. The judge and attorneys screened dozens of potential jurors before settling on seven men and seven women, including two alternates. Four are black.

Prospective jurors were asked their views on race. The victim was black, while Wafer is white.

McBride was drunk and had crashed her car a half-mile away, 3 ½ hours before the shooting.
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(Photo: AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Eric Seals, File)

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