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Defense questions capital murder charge in Dennis Daniel case

Defense attorneys for Dennis Daniel say there is no doubt that their client committed murder, but they're raising doubt as to whether his offense rises to the Capital Murder charge he is currently facing.

During opening arguments in Pittsylvania County circuit court Wednesday, attorneys for Daniel told jurors that their client has confessed to killing 30-year-old Courtney Servais on December 19, 2008.

Daniel's attorneys say he was under the influence of alcohol and anti-anxiety medication when the murder occurred and that Daniel has gaps in his memory of the events that led to Servais' death.

Prosecutors have laid out a timeline of the days prior to the murder. Commonwealth's Attorney David Grimes says Daniel and Servais met and started dating while both were patients at the Southern Virginia Mental Health Institute in September 2008.

Grimes says Daniel and Servais continued an on-and-off sexual relationship for several months after leaving the hospital, despite the fact that Servais was married with children and Daniel was in a relationship with another woman.

An event on December 5, 2008 is what Grimes calls a "time bomb" that led to the murder. In a phone conversation on that day, Servais reportedly told Daniel that she had been sexually involved with his son a few weeks earlier. Grimes says Servais was using sex with Daniel's son as revenge for Daniel having sex with his brother's wife.

Daniel was in jail on breaking and entering charges when the December 5th phonecall took place. The phonecall was recorded and Grimes has told jurors that they will be hearing the call as evidence.

Daniel was released from jail on December 13. Six days later on December 19, Servais went to see Daniel at a home in Halifax County where he was staying. The two spent the day together and Grimes says the two were spotted together in public.

Later that day, Grimes says Daniel and Servais got into an argument at Daniel's home. Daniel reportedly smashed a coffee pot over Servais' head.

That home was owned by the woman Daniel was seeing. When she returned later that afternoon, Grimes says she found blood and hair all over her house. Daniel had called to warn her about the mess, but at that time said it was the result of a confrontation with a burglar. Immediately after seeing the blood, the woman called authorities.

After attacking Servais at the Halifax County home, Grimes says Daniel forced Servais into her own car and drove her to an abandoned property in Red Oak Hollow. Grimes says the two were spotted in the car, moving at a high speed with Courtney holding a towel against her face while bleeding.

According to the prosecution's timeline, Daniel stopped at the abandoned property and took Servais behind an empty house, where he "beat her to death with a substantial object, possibly a board from the empty house nearby."

Daniel was later seen with scuffs on his skin and blood on his clothing. When confronted about his appearance, Grimes says Daniel told people he had killed a deer.

Grimes says Daniel was contacted several times on the night of December 19, reportedly saying Servais was busy before telling her husband "you don't have a wife."

Four witnesses took the stand Wednesday morning, including Servais' husband and father. Prosecutors also plan to call on Daniel's former girlfriend, who owns the house where Daniel allegedly attacked Servais.

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UPDATED: Tuesday @ 5:19 p.m.

A jury is now in place for a Pittsylvania County murder trial.

Twelve jurors and two alternates will hear the case of Dennis Daniel. The panel is made up of mostly women. Attorneys spent two days narrowing down the final jury from an original pool of 60.

Daniel faces four felonies including Capital Murder for the death of 30-year-old Courtney Servais in December 2008.

If convicted, Daniel could face the death penalty.

Attorneys have advised jurors to prepare for testimony about "extreme violence."

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Wednesday morning. The trial could continue into next week.

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UPDATED 6:10 p.m.

A jury in Pittsylvania County got about half way through the jury selection process today.

Dennis Daniel, the man accused of killing Courtney Servais, seemed alert, but defiant today in the courtroom.

At one point, the judge accused Daniel of making an obscene gesture.

16 potential jurors have been advised that once it begins, the trial could last through Thanksgiving.

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Jury selection is underway for the trial of Dennis Daniel. 

Daniel is accused of abducting, robbing and murdering his alleged girlfriend, Courtney Servais, in December of 2008.  Servais had been missing for several days before her body was found on Christmas Eve in some woods in the Red Oak Hollow section of Pittsylvania County.

That scene was less than a mile from a farm owned by Daniel's family, a place where friends tell News7 that Daniel and Servais would sometimes meet.

Servais was married when she died, but friends say she had been carrying on a secret, romantic relationship with Daniel.  We're told Servais had tried to end that relationship.

Dennis Daniel is now on trial for her death.  Daniel is facing four felonies, including a charge of capital murder, which carries the death penalty.

We've noticed an increase security presence around the courthouse in Chatham Monday morning.  No word on why law enforcement have taken that measure.  This trial is scheduled to go for seven days.

Both sides hope to have a jury seated by the end of the day.

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Jury selection is underway in the trial of a man accused of abducting and murdering a Halifax County woman. 

Dennis Daniel is accused of abducting, robbing and murdering Courtney Servais in December of 2008.  Servais had been missing for several days before her body was found in the Red Oak Hollow section of Pittsylvania County.

Back in March, a grand jury indicted him on a capital murder charge.

News7's Tim Saunders is in the courtroom and will have a live report on News 7 at Noon.