First juror picked to hear double murder case from Waterford, Norwich

Dickie E. Anderson Jr., accused in the strangling deaths of two women in the late 1990s, shed his prison jumpsuit for a suit Monday and sat between his two attorneys as 75 potential jurors filed into a New London courtroom to hear the basic facts of the case.

Anderson, 41, is going on trial for the strangling deaths of Renee Pellegrino in 1997 in Waterford and Michelle Comeau in 1998 in Norwich.

The potential jurors listened en masse to a general introduction of the case before the attorneys began questioning each of them individually before Judge Arthur C. Hadden.

By the end of the day, one woman had been accepted to serve on the panel. The selection process is expected to continue for several weeks until a jury of 12 regular members and several alternates is selected. The trial is tentatively scheduled to begin March 13.

Stephen M. Carney and David J. Smith, two senior prosecutors from the New London State's Attorney's office, are prosecuting the case. Anderson is represented by attorneys Christopher Duby, of North Haven, and John T. Walkley, of Milford. They are special public defenders, which are private attorneys appointed by the court to represent a person who cannot pay for a lawyer.

Anderson's mother and three others sat behind him in the front row of the courtroom gallery, listening as the attorneys questioned the people who might decide whether he is guilty or not guilty of murder.

Pellegrino's mother, Jean Russell, said during a phone interview that she intends to be in court once the trial begins. Comeau's survivors could not be reached for comment.

The two victims were troubled women who worked as prostitutes and smoked crack cocaine. In interviews with police, Anderson, who has lived in New London and Norwich, admitted he was a "trick artist" who traded crack for sex with prostitutes. He admitted knowing both women but denied killing them and continues to proclaim his innocence.

Over a 13-year period, investigators interviewed dozens of witnesses and developed Anderson as a suspect.

In 2008, they learned that the state forensic laboratory had a DNA "hit" - physical evidence that linked Anderson to Pellegrino. The laboratory notified police that DNA taken from Pellegrino's body matched a sample that had been taken from Anderson. The laboratory also found DNA on Pellegrino from an unknown source.

The Southeastern Connecticut Cold Case Unit charged Anderson with Pellegrino's murder in June 2010. Three months later, they charged him with Comeau's murder.

- Karen Florin