Jury selection is underway today in Council Bluffs in the second murder trial of a Sioux City man.
The trial of 48-year-old Elias Wanatee is being held in Pottawattamie County District Court after a judge granted Wanatee’s request for a change of venue, citing excessive publicity in the Sioux City area.
Wanatee’s first trial ended in a mistrial in December after jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.
Wanatee is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death a year ago of 50-year-old Vernon Mace in Sioux City.
There were no witnesses and police didn’t find a weapon. Wanatee’s attorney suggests his client acted in self-defense.