A jury of 12 plus five alternates was finalized Tuesday in the capital-murder case of a Pine Bluff man accused of kidnapping and killing a Wooster woman in a crime that began while she shopped in Conway.
The all-white jury, selected over six days, will hear the death-penalty case against 20-year-old Tacori Mackrell, who is Black, in the 2018 killing of Elvia Fragstein, 72, of Wooster.
"Testimony and introduction of evidence will start Thursday," said Jeff Rosenzweig, Mackrell's defense attorney.
Prosecuting Attorney Carol Crews did not return messages left for comment as of late Tuesday.
Eight women and four men comprise the jury, while three women and two men are alternates.
Mackrell is charged with capital murder, kidnapping, robbery and theft of property.
The trial is set to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday with Faulkner County Circuit Judge Troy Braswell Jr. presiding and is to continue through Oct. 16. The much larger fourth-floor courtroom will be used to accommodate the need for social distancing, Braswell said.
The jury box will hold only about six jurors spaced 6 feet apart. Three more jurors will be seated in chairs directly in front of the jury box and the remaining jurors and alternates will be behind temporary cubicle walls in the first four rows normally reserved for spectators.
Investigators believe Fragstein had been shopping at the Conway Commons Shopping Center on July 7, 2018, when she was abducted by Mackrell, 18 at the time, and his cousin, Robert Smith II, who was 16 at the time.
Just after midnight, Fragstein's husband, Helmut Fragstein, called the Faulkner County sheriff's office to report his wife missing. He provided deputies with credit card transaction dates, times and locations of purchases.
Fragstein can be seen on video leaving the Kroger grocery store in her 2013 silver Honda CR-V slowly backing out of a parking space. Her vehicle is then seen on traffic camera video driving toward Salem Road with her driver's side sun visor down and what appears to be a black garage door opener attached to the visor.
Fragstein can then be seen on T.J. Maxx store video footage, exiting the store about 3:43 p.m. after purchasing sunglasses, women's attire, swimwear and men's boxers.
Three minutes later, the CR-V can be seen leaving the department store parking area at a high rate of speed.
"When Mrs. Fragstein's vehicle approaches the entrance area of Target, the driver side visor is down and what appears to be the same black garage door opener is still attached to the visor," said Faulkner County sheriff's investigator Andy Cook in the arrest affidavit. "The details of the vehicle are consistent with the vehicle shown just hours prior at the Kroger, but not the driving mannerism."
Target video then shows Fragstein's vehicle with several occupants. The driver, wearing a white T-shirt, can be seen pulling over and movement can be seen inside the vehicle.
It was later discovered that Fragstein's vehicle license plates had been checked by an Arkansas State Police trooper on Interstate 530 around Gravel Pit Road north of Pine Bluff.
Fragstein's body was found July 11, 2018 on a rural road near Pine Bluff. An autopsy revealed she had suffered broken ribs, a fractured cervical vertebra and a crushed throat.
Investigators began reviewing store footage for possible leads. Just prior to Fragstein leaving T.J. Maxx, the video footage shows two Black men walking in front of the department store. The subjects were later identified with the assistance of the Pine Bluff Police Department as Mackrell, who was wearing a white T-shirt in the video, and Smith, who was wearing a multicolored airbrush-type shirt. Photographs of the two throughout the shopping center were obtained.
Video footage of the parking lot also shows two suspects, identified as Mackrell and Smith, arriving at Target at 2:37 p.m. in a blue PT Cruiser. Video footage shows the two moving from parking space to parking space, eventually ending up near T.J. Maxx.
After the news of the crime circulated on social media, two women came forward to report they had been at Smith's sister's home when they walked across the street to an apartment complex and met with Mackrell and his girlfriend, records show.
The next day, one of the women said Mackrell and Smith gave the woman, her two children and Mackrell's sister a ride in a silver CR-V to a Family Dollar store and a gaming store. Video from the gaming store shows the group arriving July 10, 2018 in the CR-V, records show.
The female witness said she was told by Mackrell's sister that they got the vehicle from "some old white man in Conway," records show.
The second female witness said Mackrell's sister told her the vehicle was stolen and the "local chop shop" would not take it because it was too new, records show.
According to records, when questioned by investigators, Mackrell -- who earlier had denied being in Conway on the day of Fragstein's abduction -- admitted that he and Smith had been in Conway on the day in question "when an unknown Caucasian male with a .357 caliber revolver pointed out Mrs. Fragstein and instructed them to take her."
Mackrell's account of what happened changed as the interview with police proceeded, according to the case file.
Smith and Mackrell were arrested July 16, a day before Fragstein's vehicle was found abandoned and destroyed by fire in a grassy area in Jefferson County, more than 80 miles from where Fragstein had last been seen.
According to documents in the case file, Fragstein's blood was found on Smith's shoes.
Smith and Mackrell's cases were separated in the fall of 2018 after Smith's defense attorney argued that Mackrell had implicated himself, Smith and a third person in the crime.
Smith is charged as an adult but is exempt from the death penalty because he was under 18 at the time he is suspected of committing the crime. He is awaiting trial.