Jury selection begins for trial of man charged in 2012 throat-cutting case

Jury selection began Monday in the first-degree murder trial of a Wichita man charged with breaking into another man’s home and cutting his throat with a hunting knife.

Jerry Thach, 24, is charged in the Aug. 4, 2012, death of Pheng Xiong, 35, who was found dead in his home at 830 S. Erie by a roommate.

A witness at his preliminary hearing said Thach held Xiong by the feet as another man, Caesar K. Louis, 25, cut his throat. The witness said the men broke into the home seeking revenge from an earlier confrontation.

Louis was sentenced to more than 28 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary.

Thach is being tried in the courtroom of District Judge Greg Waller.

This story was originally published January 27, 2014 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Jury selection begins for trial of man charged in 2012 throat-cutting case."