TV show leads to juror being excused

There was a change in the composition of the jury in the Peter Hommerson murder trial shortly after the trial began Tuesday.

A female juror on the panel was excused after the lunch break when she told Lake County Circuit Judge John Phillips she had already decided Hommerson was guilty.

The woman, who was identified in court only by a number, said she remembered seeing a segment on the hunt for Hommerson on the Fox Television program "America's Most Wanted."

The show, which is also credited with leading to Hommerson's arrest in Mexico in 2005, had explained that Hommerson left this country shortly after being questioned about the murders of Marvin and Kay Lichtman.

When Phillips asked the woman if she could set aside what she saw on the program and remain impartial in the case, she said she could not.

"It is just my opinion and my belief that if someone flees after being questioned, then they are guilty," she told Phillips.

A male alternate juror replaced the woman on the panel, which is now made up of nine men and three women.