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One of Calhoun's most gruesome murder cases will start Monday in Grantsville with jury selection for the trial of Sand Ridge resident Ronnie Rush.
Calhoun County Prosecutor Matt Minney has issued at least 11 subpoenas in the case, which is expected to take several days.
Public defender Shannon Baldwin will be representing Rush, who is being charged with the double murder of Ward Groves and his ex-wife Mary Hicks.
Groves and Hicks were shot while in their beds on May 14, 2003.
Groves died from a gunshot wound to the head and Hicks, whose body was found in another room, died of a gunshot wound to the left side of her body.
Rush was sixteen when the crimes were committed. Judge Thomas Evans III made a decision earlier this year to try Rush as an adult.
Rush, according to court records, has given conflicting accounts about what happened the night of the murder.
State Police initially arrested Bobby Ray Shamblin for the murders, but he was released from jail on bond after there was an apparent lack of evidence placing him at the murder scene.
Charges against Shamblin have yet to be dropped and he is scheduled for a court appearance sometime in January.
Key to Rush's defense is an investigation of the State Police's alleged mishandling of the case.
While the results of the State Police's internal investigation are sealed, several of the problems are contained in open court documents and portions of the document were used by Baldwin during a cross-examination of Sgt. Jeff Cooper during an earlier hearing.
Issues are related to whether or not State Police violated Rush's constitutional rights during their interrogation.
A complaint was filed against officers who were involved in the interrogation by another officer who was administering a lie detector test.
Sgt. Cooper was the lead investigator in the case, according to the State Police, who answered a Freedom of Information request by the Hur Herald.
The Herald will cover the case, starting Monday. | 
