Jury Seated On Naperville Teacher Slay Trial

Six men and six women will decide the fate of a former aviation manager accused of murdering a Naperville elementary school teacher in February 2012.

Daniel Olaska, 30, was charged with the first-degree murder of Shaun Wild, 24, a former North-Central College football teacher and promising young teacher at Spring Brook Elementary School in Naperville.

Olaska’s attorneys will argue that the Naperville man, who has no prior criminal history and was living at home with his parents at the time of incident, was acting in self defense.

Prosecutors have said that Olaska stabbed Wild to death in an early morning bar fight that took place at Frankie’s Blue Room in downtown Naperville on Feb. 4, 2012, over a remark Wild’s friend allegedly made about Olaska drinking beer from a wine glass.

Olaska is also charged with two counts of attempted murder in the wounding of Wild’s friend, Willie Hayes, and Frankie’s Blue Room bouncer, Raphael Castenada.

DuPage County Judge Kathryn Creswell and attorneys worked throughout Monday questioning potential jurors and alternates pulled from a pool of about 50 jurors.

A clean shaven Olaska, wearing a baggy tan suit, watched the jury selection as DuPage prosecutors Bernie Murray and Demtri Demopoulos asked jurors whether they played sports or belonged to any clubs in high school or college.

Potential jurors also had to answer if they considered themselves informed, somewhat informed or not informed at all on current events, and where they got their news.

“I read People magazine,” a female juror answered. “It’s a my vice.”

Olaska’s attorneys Ernie DiBenedetto and Jeff Kendall asked prospective jurors if they had attended North Central College in Naperville, or had family and friends that went there.

The defense grilled jurror candidates if they heard of Frankie’s Blue Room in downtown Naperville.

“I’m mostly in the library or Starbucks,” another female juror answered. “I’m not a bar person.”

Defense attorneys also asked the jury pool if they had ever worked in a bar or night club as a bartender, server or bouncer.

Without directly mentioning the case, jurors were asked if they had heard about the “incident at Frankie’s Blue Room.” Many admitted a passing acquaintance with the case from local news media but felt they could give both sides a fair trial.

An alternate juror candidate told attorneys that her sister was a colleague of Wild’s. She was excused when she told Judge Creswell that she didn’t think she could give a fair hearing to his accused killer because “there was just so much sadness” when Wild died, even though though she had never personally met him.

Another potential male juror mentioned in the days after the fatal bar fight he wouldn’t go to Frankie’s Blue Room because of “what happened there.”

Other juror candidates were winnowed out because of past offenses or civil lawsuits. A woman was dismissed because she didn’t think she spoke English well enough to understand legal terms.

Another potential juror was let go after he broke down recalling the stabbing death of his own brother, and another man thanked Judge Creswell for convicting his son on a drug charge in 2002 “because you really straightened him out.”

“Do you think you could evaluate the credibility of police officers the same as you would anyone else despite their occupation,” Judge Creswell asked jurors.

Asked if she played sports in high school or college, an alternate juror responded that she had played powder puff football in high school. She kept up with national and global events on the Fox News app on her phone, but was less informed about local news.

The selected jurors range in age from their 20s through retirees. Some of the jurors’ occupations include first-grade teacher, Obamacare worker, consultant, retail sales manager, truck driver, volunteer, and homemaker.

The selected jury was admonished from discussing the case among themselves, reading or watching in the news, or researching it on the Internet.

“The lawyers selected you, not your family or friends,” Judge Creswell told the jurors. “You can tell them you’re on a jury and that’s it. No Facebook or Twitter. Everything you know about this case has to happen here.”

The trial is expected to last about a week and will convene from 9:30 a.m. to about 4:30 or 5 p.m.