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Jury Selection Begins In Md. Fatal Robbery Trial

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Jury selection has started in the trial of the 34-year-old Baltimore man who is accused of killing a Johns Hopkins University researcher last year.

The Baltimore Sun reports that John Wagner has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Stephen Pitcairn.

Police say Pitcairn was robbed at knifepoint while walking from Penn Station to his home in Charles Village on July 25, 2010.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Charles J. Peters anticipates an eight-day trial that would begin next week and end about Aug. 17.

Twenty-three-year-old Lavelva Merritt of Baltimore is expected to testify. Prosecutors agreed to drop murder charges against her in exchange for her testimony against Wagner, her former lover. She has pleaded guilty to robbery and conspiracy.

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(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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