COEUR d'ALENE - Jury selection is scheduled to get under way this morning in the re-trial of 51-year-old Jonathan W. Ellington, who prosecutors will try to prove intentionally ran over and killed a woman on New Year's Day 2006.

Opening statements are likely to begin Thursday.

Ellington's first jury trial in Kootenai County in September 2006 ended in conviction on charges of second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery. Ellington, who had been living in Athol at the time of the incident, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The Idaho Supreme Court, however, threw the convictions out in May and granted him a new trial, after he had already spent six years in prison. The court found a prosecution expert witness, a member of the Idaho State Police, committed perjury on the stand. That witness, Cpl. Fred Rice, will not be testifying in the second trial.

Ellington was charged with killing Vonette L. Larsen, 41, by running her over near Scarcello and Ramsey roads on the Rathdrum Prairie with his Chevrolet Blazer.

Ellington has been out of custody for two months, after posting bond, and has been living in Utah. He has been working there and also has married during that time.

Anne Taylor, one of Ellington's defense lawyers, said in court Tuesday, "This case comes down to a matter of seconds, when a lot is happening."

She added later, "It's nothing more than an accident, unless the jury says so."

Taylor will argue at trial that Ellington accidentally ran over Larsen as he tried to flee from a confrontation with Larsen, her husband Joel Larsen, and their two daughters, Jovon and Joleen Larsen.

During the last trial, prosecutors put on evidence that showed Ellington encountered the sisters on the road and there was some sort of confrontation.

The girls called police and their parents, and followed Ellington.

The parents joined in a chase of Ellington, eventually cornering him on Scarcello Road, where Vonette Larsen got out of the car and was run over.

Defense lawyers argued Ellington feared for his life and was trying to escape the scene when Joel Larsen pulled a .44-caliber Magnum handgun and fired at Ellington's Blazer.

Firing the gun was "a huge element of what happened in this case," Taylor said Tuesday, as the court considered numerous pretrial motions.

A motion was denied to have the jury taken on a field trip where a .44-caliber Magnum could be fired in their presence. Taylor said it's important for the jury to hear the sound of the gun discharging.

First District Court Judge John Luster denied the motion because he said it would be difficult, or impossible, to replicate how Ellington heard the weapon being fired during the incident.

He also cited logistical problems and concerns about the potential for damage to the hearing of the jurors.

Defense lawyers will argue Ellington didn't have time to see Vonette Larsen before striking her.

Prosecutors will try and paint Ellington as being a man who was angry before he even got in his vehicle that day. They'll try and prove he was arguing with his girlfriend just before crossing paths with Jovon and Joleen Larsen.

Luster didn't rule on one defense motion, but plans to early today.

Ellington's other defense lawyer, John Adams, filed a motion to have the case dismissed.

Adams said prosecutors before the first trial withheld palm print evidence from defense lawyers, which showed that Vonette Larsen's palm prints didn't match those found on the front of Ellington's Blazer. Adams said defense lawyers just received the information.

Adams said prosecutors had that information in 2006, then allowed "misleading evidence" to be presented at trial.

Testimony at the first trial indicated Vonette Larsen placed her hands on or pushed on the front of Ellington's Blazer before she was run over, he said.

Adams said it's "quite clear this evidence is exculpatory," adding such a "due process violation required dismissal" of the case.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said, "It is frustrating," having to address the palm print evidence issue now.