Great Bend Post

GREAT BEND -The Jeffrey Wade Chapman murder trial is in its second week at the Barton County Courthouse.

Chapman is accused of killing 25-year old Damon Galyart in 2011.

Hunters in a field west of Great Bend found Galyart’s body.

It took three days to select a jury from a pool of over 200 people.

Testimony began on Thursday and the jury was sent home for the weekend at noon on Friday to allow defense attorney Kurt Kerns to attend to a death in his family.

Kerns told the jury last week that he will not argue that Chapman didn’t kill Galyart, instead arguing that his client killed Galyart because he was in reasonable fear for his own life.

The self-defense argument brings less serious charges, and according to state law, deadly force is permitted when a person feels their life is in jeopardy.