CLEVELAND — Jury selection began Monday in the capital murder trial of Joseph McAlpin, the man accused of killing a Cleveland couple at a car dealership nearly two years ago.
McAlpin, 31, faces more than two dozen charges, including aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping and cruelty to animals for the deaths of 50-year-old Mike and 45-year-old Trina Kuznik.
The Kuzniks were shot dead in April 2017 at their car dealership, Mr. Cars, on E. 185th Street. The couple's 19-year-old son found the bodies, and police said their dog was also killed. The Kuzniks also had a teenage daughter and younger son.
Police spent two months searching for the Kuzniks' killer before McAlpin's arrest in June. Two more men, 24-year-old Jerome Diggs, Jr., and 25-year-old Andrew Keener, were also arrested in connection to the crimes in November 2017. According to court records, Keener pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in February, while Diggs' trial is scheduled to begin in April.
McAlpin previously served nine years in prison for aggravated robbery prior to his release in 2016.