The trial for a North Fort Myers man facing the death penalty after being accused of killing and sexually abusing a two-year-old girl is set to begin Monday.
Jury selection began at 8:30 a.m. for Nicholas Stephen Canfield, 30, who is facing three counts of child abuse, one count of sexual battery and one count of first-degree murder.
Follow coverage from the courtroom below:
8:46 a.m.
Judge Bruce Kyle arrives.
10:22 a.m.
Defendant Nicholas Canfield arrives
10:30 a.m. Judge Kyle discusses whether a guilty plea could be considered a mitigating factor during sentencing. Canfield and his attorney, Kevin Shirley, stepped out of the courtroom to discuss.
10:56 a.m. Canfield and his attorneys re-enter the courtroom. Judge calls for 50 jurors to come into the courtroom for questioning.
11:01 a.m. Court is in recess.
11:43 a.m. Potential jurors enter the courtroom. Hardship questioning begins.
12:20 p.m. Judge Kyle releases jurors who are not selected to serve on the trial.
12:52 p.m. Judge Kyle asks jurors to return at 2 p.m. to read indictments and go through a death qualification
On April 29, 2020, deputies with the Lee County Sheriff's Office responded to a medical call at the girl's home on West Mariana Avenue in North Fort Myers.
When they arrived, deputies said they found Canfield trying to revive the girl he claimed to have found unresponsive in the bathtub.
According to LCSO, there were fresh bruises, swelling and other physical trauma to the girl's body.
Canfield was dating the girl's mother at the time, who was at work when deputies arrived. According to the arrest report, there were two more children in the home at the time.
Authorities said the other children also showed signs of abuse.
Trial was originally scheduled to begin in late January, 2024, but the judge declared a mistrial due to Canfield's attorney having a medical issue.
The state said they are seeking the death penalty, calling Canfield's alleged crime "heinous."
The trial is scheduled to run until April 11, with jury selection potentially taking up a week.
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