(NewsNation) — Jury selection begins Thursday for the trial of a 75-year-old Arizona rancher accused of shooting and killing a Mexican citizen who he claims was trespassing on his property last year.
George Alan Kelly faces one count of second-degree murder in the death of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea of Nogales, Mexico. He also faces one count of aggravated assault related to an anonymous but possibly key witness who was part of the group traveling with Cuen-Buitimea and allegedly ran away.
The prosecution and defense attorneys are disputing which evidence should be included in the trial.
Prosecutors have asked an appeals court to rule on whether Kelly’s wife can testify and which of Kelly’s text messages can be admitted as evidence.
The defense aims to introduce an expert witness to cast doubt on the investigation.
“What’s going to be most critically important for the defense is all of that testimony regarding the crime scene,” trial attorney Misty Marris, who is not involved in the case, told NewsNation. “The defense has been adamant that the crime scene was tainted, and that Kelly is being framed by drug traffickers for these killings. All of that is going to come down to a battle of the experts about the gun, the angle of the gun, the distance, it’s going to be a highly technical trial.”
According to court documents, on Jan. 30, 2023, Kelly was eating lunch with his wife when he spotted at least five men wearing camouflage clothing moving through his property. He called Border Patrol before going onto his porch with a rifle.
Authorities said Kelly shot at a group of unarmed migrants who were walking through his 170-acre cattle ranch in the Kino Springs area, and Cuen-Buitimea was among them.
According to prosecutors, Kelly recklessly fired an AK-47 rifle toward the migrants, who were about 100 yards away from him. Upon responding to the incident, authorities found Cuen-Buitimea dead from a gunshot wound.
But Kelly’s lawyer said her client shot into the air above the migrants, and he feared for his and his wife’s safety and the property.
The other migrants weren’t injured and managed to escape back to Mexico.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.