Jury selections begin in Lowndes County murder trial

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Jury selection begins in a Lowndes County first-degree murder trial.

Donta Kirby was arrested in July 2020.

A state trooper stopped Kirby in Webster County.

Kirby is accused of running from the trooper, while in handcuffs.

He was caught after a manhunt.

Shortly after that arrest, the Pine Bluff, Arkansas man was charged with murder in Lowndes County.

28-year-old Lorenze Halthon Jr. of Columbus was found shot to death on Burns Road. A passerby discovered his body.

A Lowndes County Grand Jury also indicted Kirby on two counts of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

Opening arguments will begin as soon as a jury is seated.