A Kern County Superior Court judge called upon more than 100 people Monday to begin the herculean effort to find prospective jurors in the highly anticipated murder trial of the California City brothers’ adoptive parents.
Trezell and Jacqueline West have each pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, one charge of involuntary manslaughter, willful cruelty to a child, conspiracy and falsely reporting an emergency in the deaths of Orrin, 4, and Orson, 3, West. The brothers were named Classic and Cincere Pettus by their biological parents.
Judge Charles Brehmer requested 132 jurors be sent to his courtroom Monday, according to Superior Court Public Information Officer Kristin Davis. They began filling out questionnaires asking about their availability and general questions about prior knowledge of this case, Davis wrote in an email.
Jury selection is slated to last until Friday with opening statements scheduled to begin March 28. The tentative schedule says the trial will last until May.
Both Wests reported their adopted children missing in December 2020. Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer announced in March 2022 a grand jury indicted both parents on murder charges.
The boys died three months prior to the Wests reporting them missing, but their bodies have never been found, Zimmer said in March 2022.
An indictment said the Wests murdered their adoptive children between Sept. 1, 2020 and Sept. 11, 2020. Both defendants also “induced a minor to commit or assist in the commission of the crime,” the indictment said, while also taking “advantage of a position of trust or confidence to commit the offense.”
Another allegation in the indictment said defendants “threatened witnesses, unlawfully prevented or dissuaded witnesses from testifying, suborned perjury, or in any way illegally interfered with the judicial process.”
A gag order on this case prevents attorneys from speaking.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to say Orrin and Orson West were named Cincere and Classic Pettus by their biological parents.