Decade after Baton Rouge woman's disappearance, jury seated in long-awaited murder trial
BATON ROUGE - More than a decade after Oscar Lozada allegedly killed and dismembered his wife, a jury has been seated in the accused killer's murder trial.
The selection process started Monday morning and continued into Tuesday afternoon, with a jury of nine women and three men being seated. The defense previously objected to having a mostly female jury, given the nature of the allegations.
Sylviane Finck Lozada disappeared nearly 12 years ago. Her body was never found.
After Sylviane's disappearance, Oscar fled the country with their young daughter. In court Tuesday, there was compelling testimony from the couple's former neighbor who was in communication with Oscar in the months after Lozada left for Venezuela.
In those texts, Oscar said he and Sylviane got into a fight over an alleged affair she was having. Lozada says she walked out after that and never came back. He said that he doesn’t think Sylviane is okay and that it’s possible his wife could have hurt herself.
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In the prosecution's opening statement however, they referenced an interview with Mexican authorities where Oscar admitted to strangling his wife.