A trial for a 30-year-old murder case is moving out of Rusk County.

No new location and date has not been set for the Harry "John" Rogers trial.

Judge Frederick Henderson says Polk County is an option and did make a phone call to see about openings there. A telephone scheduling conference is scheduled for 1 p.m Tuesday, July 29.

All of the 14 jurors who were picked Monday said they had read or heard something about the murder. The trial was expected to last a week.

Rogers was previously sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder in the August 1979 death of 27-year-old Robert Pfeil outside his rural Ladysmith home. That conviction was later vacated.

MONDAY'S STORY:

A murder trial wrapped up its first day in Ladysmith, but it's unclear if the trial will move forward.

Harry "John" Rogers had been serving a life sentence for the murder of Robert Pfeil, Jr. back in 1979. He originally testified that he shot Pfeil in the head and hid the gun with the help of his brothers. Last year, Rogers withdrew his no contest plea and a judge vacated his conviction.

It took all day Monday to select a jury for the John Rogers murder trial. But, now the defense is worried the jury may not be impartial.

The big factor was that 28 people out of the 30 person jury pool from Rusk County had heard something about the case over the almost three decades since Pfeil was murdered.

In the end, the attorneys picked six women and eight men to make up the 12 person jury with two alternates.

Rusk County District Attorney Kathleen Pakes says she's satisfied with the jury, but the defense wants the night to sleep on it and consider if the trial needs to be moved out of Rusk County.

Defense Attorney Jim Rebholz from the Milwaukee area told me his case will center on "imperfect self defense." That means he'll try to prove Rogers felt Pfeil was going to harm family.

Before jury selection even began, Judge Frederick Henderson read a list of 16 potential witnesses for the trial; the most notable being Dale Rogers. Dale Rogers served about a year and half in jail for soliciting second degree murder in Pfeil's death. He was released in 2006.

There were several family members and friends in the courtroom to support John Rogers. None of them wanted to comment on the case, but a family friend said they plan to be in the courtroom throughout the trial.