Jury Selection Underway In Trial Against Man Accused Of Rape, Murder In The Village

Jury selection is underway in the capital murder case against a convicted felon accused of brutally beating and raping two women, killing one of them.

Albert Ray Johnson is accused of first degree murder, rape and nine other felony charges.

Right now, the prosecution and defense are trying to find a jury of 12 men and women who are willing and able to serve on this death penalty case. The trial is expected to last up to three weeks.

Albert Johnson came to court dressed in a dark suit, gray shirt and striped tie and seemed very calm and composed as he watched his attorney, prosecutors and the judge question potential jurors in his capital murder trial.

He was even caught smiling at times.

Johnson has a long criminal record and has served time in prison for rape, kidnapping and assault and battery.

But now, he faces a first-degree murder charge as well as 10 other felony counts for the brutal attack that left his girlfriend severely injured and traumatized.

Her friend Rachel Rogers, 24, died as a result of the assault.

Court papers state Rogers came over to the couple's home on Lakeside Drive in The Village on June 13, 2014, after she got a frantic call asking for help.

Court documents state when she arrived, Johnson let Rogers into the home, and that's when he savagely beat and raped both women, all while his girlfriend's 8-year-old daughter slept in a back room.

Court papers state the girl is the one who found her mother the next morning, beaten and bloodied and lying in the closet. Rogers was also in the room and was alive when emergency crews arrived, but later succumbed to her injuries.

Prosecutors confirm the girlfriend who survived is expected to take the stand and testify against Johnson, and that that testimony will be crucial in this death penalty case.

News 9 is not revealing her name to protect her privacy as well as her young daughter’s privacy and also because she was a victim of sexual assault.