An appeal has been made to remove one juror and a second fell ill during the trial of Donald Jessamine.
The trial over a 2012 death on the Delaware River will be delayed until next week, when both sides expect to rest their cases.
Donald Jessamine, 65, of Phillipsburg, is charged with aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide.
Authorities allege he was drunk June 23, 2012, when he drove a jet boat into a rock near a bridge in Harmony Township, sending him, 57-year-old Lane Alden and another passenger into the water. Alden's body was found five days later several miles downriver. She died of blunt force trauma.
Jessamine faces 30 years in prison if convicted.
Testimony began last week and was to resume Tuesday. But of the 14 jurors, one is ill and another may potentially be removed, the attorneys said Tuesday in a discussion with Judge Bruce Jones. Neither the prosecution nor defense wanted to proceed without at least one extra juror.
Passenger testifies about fatal boat crash
Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke and defense attorney Michael Priarone said they could not discuss the reasons behind the appeal to the state appellate court to remove one of the jurors.
The jury issues, combined with witnesses' availability, led to the decision to resume testimony Monday.
If the rest of the trial proceeds as planned, Burke said the state could rest early next week. Remaining testimony includes a medical analysis of Alden's death.
Priarone estimated defense testimony will take about a day. Jessamine may take the stand, he said, along with some character witnesses.
The trial was originally projected to last eight to 15 days, not including jury selection or deliberations.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
