Jury selection in the death penalty case against accused murderer Pablo Fernando Maldonado began this week.

The 25 year old is accused of being the ringleader in the murder of Rockdale landscaper Timothy Clements, whose body was found in Snapping Shoals Creek in the summer of 2009.

One defendant, Katria McClain, 19, took a plea bargain in 2010. The two other defendants, 21-year-old Brittany Beasley and 20-year-old Christian Caldwell, are both incarcerated at the Newton County Detention Center. They have not yet been to trial, nor have they accepted a plea deal.

A jury could be seated in the case as early as week's end. A death penalty trial typically takes at least a week, oftentimes longer. Following the sentencing phase, jurors then move into the penalty phase, where they decide if the defendant's actions warrant the death penalty or another, lesser, sentence.