Jury selection opens in college student murder trial

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jury selection has begun in the trial of a man charged with killing a 22-year-old Temple University student.

Thirty-year-old Joshua Hupperterz is charged with murder, possession of an instrument of crime, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in the death of Jenna Burleigh. Philly.com reports he rejected an offer last month to plead guilty to third-degree murder, contending he is innocent.

Hupperterz faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole if convicted of first-degree or second-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Hupperterz killed Burleigh in his Philadelphia apartment early Aug. 31, 2017, then moved her body to his mother’s suburban home in a plastic storage container. Investigators say he later moved Burleigh’s body to his grandmother’s home in the Poconos, where the body was discovered.

Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday.