By Michael Freeman, Managing Editor

The capital murder trial of former ACU student Brandon Dale Woodruff began Thursday morning in the 354th District Court in Hunt County.

Woodruff is accused of killing both his parents, Dennis and Norma, in 2005; he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecution gave its opening statements and called Hunt County Sheriff’s Investigator Tommy Grandfield, Raphael Guerrero with the Texas Attorney General’s Office and Linda Matthews, Norma’s sister, to give their testimonies. The defense deferred its opening argument until after the prosecution gave its statements, according to a Royse City Herald-Banner article.

Also according to the article, Grandfield described the crime scene in his testimony. He said Dennis and Norma were found dead, sitting next to one another on a couch in the living room of their home.

The prosecution said Dennis was shot once and stabbed nine times, while Norma was shot as many as five times. Guerrero said the scene did not appear as though the victims put up much of a fight before they were killed.

Prosecutors also pointed out that the television in the living room was still on, Norma’s pickup truck was missing and the couple’s wallets were missing. They said the house was found to be locked when a family friend discovered the bodies Oct. 18, 2005.

The Royse City Herald-Banner also mentioned that a six-man, six-woman jury, along with two male alternates, were selected Wednesday.