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Slow start to trial for man accused of killing wife

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David Brossard

ELKHORN — It was a slow start Monday in the trial for a Burlington man accused of killing his wife 12 years ago and sinking her body near the deepest part of Geneva Lake.

David Brossard, 40, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of his wife, Dawn Brossard. She was reported missing in October 1997, when she did not show up for work. Her body was found six years later, by a law enforcement officer on a recreational scuba dive. The Walworth County District Attorney’s Office charged David Brossard in September 2008.

There were 117 people called to court Monday as potential jurors in the case. All but a handful of them will be back today, when the judge and attorneys will continue their interviews with potential jurors.

Those who will not return were excluded from service, often for their answers to questions about what they know about the case or personal experience with issues this case is likely to touch on, from homicide to domestic violence or a messy divorce.

One juror was excluded for an admitted tendency to “lean toward women” in arguments and another after demonstrating incredible recall of the details of the case from articles she had read. That juror also admitted having a bias toward David Brossard’s guilt, saying it is “usually your first reaction.”

Jury selection will continue today. The trial is expected to last at least two weeks.

Editor’s note: The Kenosha News, Racine Journal-Times and Janesville Gazette are teaming up in a cooperative effort to cover the trial of David Brossard in Elkhorn. Each day, each newspaper will carry shared coverage of the trial, and information also will be available at the papers’ Web sites.