Ciccone murder trial delayed to Jan. 4

The trial of Albert Ciccone, charged in the death of his pregnant wife, was postponed Monday until Jan. 4, 2005.

Jury selection had been scheduled to begin Monday, with a larger jury pool than normal being called, but the county prosecutor's office requested the delay because of problems getting some of their witnesses to be present.

Ciccone, 27, was a staff sergeant at Mountain Home AFB at the time of his arrest. A number of witnesses it intended to call to lay background for the case, the prosecutor's office told Judge Mike McLaughlin, are either TDY, have been transferred, or have retired and left the area.

Defense attorney Terry Ratliff objected to the delay, noting that the county had had "plenty of time" to make sure its witnesses were available, and pointing out that Ciccone already had spent over nine months in jail since his arrest.

McLaughlin denied a defense request that he be released under, the supervision of the Air Force, from jail until the trial, but left open the possibility that the defense might still find a way to make that acceptable to him.

The state alleges that on Oct. 16, 2003, Ciccone was driving his estranged wife, Kathleen Terry, 22, to whom he had been married for only a few months, to her mother's house near Tipanuk when the two began to argue. She got out of the car and began walking down Ditto Creek Road. Ciccone allegedly then ran over her, killing her and her unborn child.

He has been charged, under a state law that allows a murder prosecution for the death of a fetus, with two counts of murder.

The state is not seeking the death penalty.

It is a trial that is expected to be missing some color.

The family and friends of the victim have consistently filled the courtroom during pre-trail hearings and motions, many of them wearing purple, the color used as a symbol by advocates of programs against domestic violence.

At the request of the defense, Judge McLaughlin has barred anyone attending the trial from wearing purple, agreeing with the defense contention that it had the possibility of influencing some jury members.