CARROLLTON, Mo. (AP) - A central Missouri man has gone on trial for a second time on charges of setting fire to his wife and their house.
Willard Hunt, of Higbee, is charged with arson, domestic assault and armed criminal action in the July 2013 fire that left his wife with severe burns and destroyed their home. A judge halted Hunt's first trial in June over a problem with evidence.Jury selection for the second trial began Tuesday in Carroll County.
The proceeding was moved there from Randolph County because of extensive media coverage.
Prosecutors say Hunt poured gasoline on his wife and ignited it with a cigarette lighter, burning her over 40 percent of her body.
The woman said Hunt had been drinking heavily before the fire.