Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Attorneys confirmed with a judge this afternoon the triple murder trial for former Onalaskan John A. Booth Jr. is a go for next week.

Booth, 32, is charged with murder and other offenses related to the August 2010 gunshot deaths of two men and a teenage boy inside a Salkum-Onalaska area home. Booth is also charged with attempted murder of a woman in the same house the same night.

Jury selection in Lewis County Superior Court is expected to begin at 9:30 on Monday, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said today.

Opening statements by the lawyers may not occur until Tuesday, Meagher said.

The judge has said he thought the trial might last a week to 10 days.

Prosecutors allege Booth and Ryan J. McCarthy visited the house on Wings Way in connection with collecting money for drug debts or a “perceived” debt owed to Robert “Robbie” S. Russell. One of the victims, David West Sr. 52, was a witness in a pending case against Russell.

Also shot dead were David West Jr., 16, and a friend Tony E. Williams, 50, of Randle. Denise Salts, then 51, survived a gunshot wound to her face.

McCarthy, 32, was sentenced in September to a little more than 14 years for his role in the case following a plea deal.
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Read “Court hearing reveals more details about Salkum triple slaying” from Saturday Oct. 1,  2011, here

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

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