Four jurors were chosen Monday in the trial of Frank Chise-si, Jr., charged with the December, 1960, shotgun and knife murder of schoolmate Rhett Blanke.
Certified by the St. Bernard Parish prosecutor, District Attorney Leander H. Perez Jr.,and defense attorney Sam Monk Zelden were:
Russell Arcement, St. Bernard community. f Murphy Allo, Violet.
Donice Duturich, Chalmette.
Guy G. Haughton, Toca.
The search for eight more jurors will resume Tuesday a 10:30 a. m., according to pre siding judge J. Bernard Cocke Judge Cocke set court hours a 10:30 a. m. to noon, 1 p m. to 5:30, unless otherwise specified
In all, 18 prospective jurors were called to the stand in th< ! courtroom in Chalmette. Only four were accepted. The other were turned down for variou reasons, most for opposition capital punishment.
St. Bernard sheriff Jack Row ley said 102 prospective juror would be called Tuesday to appear. It's believed that the 12-man jury will be completed Tuesday, no later than the morning session Wednesday.
penalty, while Zelden said his client is entering a plea of not guilty by reasons of insanity.
Judge Cocke explained to the prospective jurors that they would have five choices for a verdict — guilty as charged, guilty without capital punishment, guilty of manslaughter, not guilty by reason of insanity and not guilty.
PEREZ' QUESTIONS Perez's questioning of the jurors centered on the number of their children, their ages, the jurors' attitude toward capital p-unishment. And, above all, whether they knew him, any of his staff or his father, Leander Perez St., former St. Bernard district attorney and presently president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission Council.
Most prospective jurors said they knew Perez Sr. and Jr., if not personally, certainly by reputation.
Perez also sought information from prospective jurors of Italian descent whether their being Italian and the defendant, Chisesi, being Italian would sway them. None said it would. 1 IN RAPT ATTENTION Young Chisesi sat with his hands cupped under his head in rapt attention during most of the technical questioning. The 19-year-old Chisesi toyed with a ball of yellow paper, turned once to Zelden's associate, Bruce Borello, to check the time. Seldom did he smile. The youth was dressed smartly in a black suit with gray pin stripe, a pale blue shirt, dark tie and dark shoes.
In the center of the courtroom, only three rows back from the defense's table, were his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Chisesi Sr. They talked with their son twice, once briefly at the noon reqess and 10 minutes during the afternoon recess.
touched as the family talked quietly. On one occasion Mrs. Cbisesi smiled broadly. 25 SPECTATORS The courtroom had, at the most, 25 spectators.
The body of Blanke, son of Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Blanke, 5762 Pasteur blvd., had been shot with a .410 shotgun and slashed and stabbed 17 tim^s with a knife Dec. 8, 1959.
Two days later, Chisesi was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Newark,. N. J. Chisesi admitted the killing, and said Bianke had annoyed him. But he said the shooting was in self-defense.
The two boys, both 15 at the time, had been on a hunting trip. Blanke's body was found on the Mississippi River batture at Violet.
WITNESSES LISTED
Perez released the following names of witnesses he will call:
Stewart Burton and Gene A. Harris, Negroes, who found Blanke's body.
Dr. A. V. Filizola, St. Bernard Parish coroner.
Dr. Rudolph J. Muelling, LSU pathologist wno performed the autopsy on Blanke's body.
juvenile probation officer for St. Bernard Parish.
Zelden's list of witnesses includes:
Dr. Kenneth A, Ritter, a psychiatrist who was on the first lunacy commission that examined Chisesi.
Dr. Filizola, St. Bernard Parish coroner who was on all three lunacy commissions.
Dr. James T. Reeves, psychiatrist on the first lunacy commission that examined Chisesi.
Dr. Robert N. Dorsey, a psychologist who examined Chisesi.
Dr. William S. Wiedorn, also on the first lunacy commission.
Dr. Howard H. Russell, ChisesFs family physician.
Dr. Gene L. Usdin, psychiatrist who testified at one of the lunacy commission hearings. INDICTED FEB. 1960
Chisesi was indicted for murder first by the St. Bernard Parish Grand Jury in February, 1960.
He was ordered committed to the state hospital in Jackson the following May after a court-appointed lunacy commission heldi he was psychotic and unable to assist in his own trial defense.
After he was returned from the state hospital 10 months ago, several sanity hearings were held for him.
On Sept. 24, 1963, Judge Frederick J. R. Heebe, then sitting
Deputy Sheriff T. K. Devitt,[*. the.St- Bernard court, ruled k f th ^} f
who took pictures of the scene. .C1?isesi sane and able to stand
Chief Deputy Wallace Ansar-tnfL. ...
di who investigated Assisting Perez m the prosecu-
Deputy Sheriff A. W. Hernan-!tion *** Assistant District Attorneys Eugene E. Leon Jr. and August A. Nobile Jr. Borrello is associated with Zelden in the defense.
dez.
Wallace Morales, chief criminal deputy at the time of Blanke's death.
Capt. Vincent Ebeier of the state police.
Frank A. Chisesi Sr., father of the defendant.
Philip Chisesi, an uncle of the defendant.
John J. Koch, a chemist with the State Police Bureau of Identification at the time of Blanke's death.
Edward J. Cavalier, Matthew Picataci and Gerald B. DeBlanc, schoolmates of Blanke.
Mrs. Lusta Blanke, mother of the dead youth.
Councilman Vial J. Blanke of PHOTO: FRANK CHISESI JR.
