Six potential jurors were excused and selection will continue Tuesday morning in the murder trial of Richard Demello.

It is a trial that is expected to last a week to two weeks, said Demello’s attorney, Steven B. DeCillis of Henderson.

Halifax County District Attorney Melissa Pelfrey called the names of more than 40 witnesses expected to testify in the trial once a jury is seated.

DeCillis, as he interviewed potential jurors, said, “This is going to be an old-fashioned who done it case,” prefacing that comment by saying, “The state contends he did it and we contend he didn’t do it.”

Comments DeCillis made during the selection process brought tears to Michael Wayne Davis’s two daughters, wife and mother and they briefly left the courtroom this afternoon. Davis is the victim in the case.

The comments centered on the nature of Davis’s March 28, 2010, death on Mobley Street, which is located off West Tenth Street just outside Roanoke Rapids. “Mr. Davis was probably hit 20 times by an axe or hatchet. It was a brutal murder,” the attorney said, saying there will be testimony that could show the victim’s face was chopped off.

During one portion of the selection process Davis’s mother took out a photo of herself and her son.

Pelfrey explained to the jury pool Demello has pleaded not guilty and that he faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and larceny of a motor vehicle.

The assault with a deadly weapon charge stems from Demello allegedly holding a knife to Mary Moore, who was in the house at the time of murder.

In a bond hearing last year investigators said Moore said she woke abruptly between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. to find a man on top of her, who dragged her into another room in the house.

Demello allegedly already fastened bootlaces to the bedpost and used them to tie the woman up.

When she asked the man where her friend Mike was, he replied, "He's not with us anymore," according to authorities.

She told police that the man seemed distressed. He told her that he would send someone to get her, and then took off.

The woman managed to untie the laces and get to a friend's house in a nearby neighborhood, where she phoned police.

When investigators arrived at the home on Mobley Street where the woman said she'd been assaulted, they found a brutal murder scene.

Davis’ body was wrapped in a sheet after he was struck several times with a blunt object, possibly a hatchet.

Davis died from repeated blunt force trauma to his upper torso.

Demello has a long list of past convictions, including breaking and entering, aggravated rape, assault and battery, kidnapping and larceny.