Thornton Murder Case in Final Phase of Jury Selection : Courts: Lawyers expect panel to be seated this week in the trial of Thousand Oaks man accused of killing Westlake woman.

Lawyers on Monday began the final phase of jury selection in the death-penalty trial of a Thousand Oaks man charged with slaying Westlake nurse Kellie O’Sullivan last year.

A panel of 12 jurors, along with four alternates, is expected to be seated this week, attorneys said, setting the stage for the trial of 20-year-old Mark Scott Thornton to begin next Monday.

When jury selection began four weeks ago, 336 jurors were called for duty. By Monday, only 65 remained--the others having been dismissed either because of economic hardship or bias.

Despite assurances from the defense and the prosecution that the jury will be narrowed to its final version this week, the selection process moved slowly Monday.

By the end of the day, only three of the 65 jurors had been bumped from the case.

Of the three who were dismissed, two women told Superior Court Judge Charles R. McGrath that they could no longer commit time to the case. One of them said she needed to be home to care for her 102-year-old mother and her husband, who is 80. A third juror was excused after saying she might sympathize with the defendant because her own teen-age son is seeing a psychiatrist.

“I don’t think I can be a good juror at this time,” she said.

But the majority of jurors said they would have no problem serving in the trial, expected to last four months.

Still, that did not stop the defense from trying to determine the veracity of those claims.

Deputy Public Defender Susan R. Olson quizzed each juror about his or her views on learning disabilities and alcoholism. The defense is expected to say that Thornton is not totally responsible for his actions because he was a special-education student who was abused and neglected by his alcoholic father, who is now deceased.

Olson also questioned jurors about past jury service, their family backgrounds, their personality traits and their views toward psychiatry.

Deputy Public Defender Howard J. Asher, Thornton’s second lawyer, wanted to know why one woman suggested on a jury survey that criminal defendants seem to have too many rights.

Although the woman first said that “I think everybody should get a fair shake,” she added that she does believe that defendants “are protected as far as I can see from Day 1.”

On the other hand, the woman said, victims appear to be left to fend for themselves.

Many of the jurors seemed bored by the lack of progress. Some rested their heads on their hands in the courtroom. Others moved impatiently in their chairs. One woman dozed off.

Things livened somewhat when Olson was quizzing one elderly man, who did not seem to be challenged by the defense attorney’s questions. “I have a very low tolerance for conversations of little merit,” the man told the attorney as laughter erupted throughout the room.

Another interesting moment came when a relatively young woman was asked if she might be intimidated during deliberations by her older fellow jurors.

The woman, who wore jeans, sweater and hoop earrings, said she considers herself to be “strong-minded” and would have no difficulty defending her views.

“I would hope that they would treat me like they would want to be treated,” she said.