Denny Ross jury seated for Monday trial in 1999 murder of Hannah Hill

AKRON, Ohio - A Summit County jury was seated late Friday afternoon in the high profile murder case of 33-year-old Denny Ross, accused of strangling Hannah Hill in 1999.

Ross is being retried after his first trial ended in a mistrial.

The jury will consist of nine women and three men.

The trial will start on Monday with the jury viewing two locations, including the Akron Ellet neighborhood where Hill's body was discovered. Opening statements will follow the jury view.

Judge Hunter told the jury pool that the trial could last eight weeks. Prosecutors and defense attorneys could potentially call hundreds of witnesses.

Ross is charged with murder, felonious assault and abuse of corpse.

Hill, 18, was found in the trunk of her Geo Prism in May of 1999 on Caine Road.

Police said she had been raped, beaten and strangled.

Ross went on trial in 2000, but a judge declared a mistrial after she learned the jury had discussed a lie detector test which wasn't admitted as evidence.

Hill's family has said the two knew each other because they shared the same circle of friends, but they were not dating.

Hill disappeared after leaving her parents' home for a late-night visit with Ross at his Springfield Township apartment, police said.

While out on bond for the Hill case, Ross raped an Akron woman and is currently serving a 25-year sentence for that attack.

Ross has maintained his innocence in the Hill murder and said he was insulted by plea deal offers presented by prosecutors in July.

Prosecutors said they have DNA evidence that wasn't available at the 2000 trial, including samples from the victim's fingernails and the trunk liner of her car.

NewsChannel5 and newsnet5.com will have complete coverage of the trial beginning on Monday.