The capital murder trial of former Kaufman County Justice of the Peace Eric Williams will begin on schedule Dec. 1, according to visiting Dallas County District Court Judge Mike Snipes.

Jury selection recently ended, and Snipes rejected defense motions to delay the trial and relocate it from Rockwall County. The trial was moved from Kaufman County to Rockwall County because of conerns about pretrial publicity, but his defense lawyers claim he will not receive a fair trail in Rockwall County either. They claim the massive news coverage of the murders and their arrests tainted the jury pool throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

It took several months to select the jury from an original pool of 1,500 people.

Williams, who is now in the Rockwall County Jail, and his wife KIm, who is still in the Kaufman County Jail, are charged with the capital murders last year of Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia.

The first trial will be for Cynthia McLelland's killing.Williams allegedly shot and killed her and her husband in their home on Easter weekend last year. Hasse died in the Kaufman County Courthouse parking lot after being gunned down.

Williams is being held in lieu of $13 million bond, and his wife is being held on a $10 million bond.

Williams' wife is expected to testify against him. She filed for divorce after their jailings last year.

Special prosecutors appointed for the case allege that Williams and his wife killed the Kaufman County prosecutors for revenge. They successfully prosecuted Williams on theft of county property charges, causing him to lose his elected office and his license to practice law.