By Billy Davis

A circuit jury was seated in Batesville Monday to hear the murder trial of an 18-year-old.

Codie Allen Banton was 17 years old when, according to his attorney, he shot and killed Christopher Keel Sr. with a hunting rifle on April 25, 2008.

Authorities said Banton intervened when Keel was fighting with Harley Elmer Banton, the teenager’s father.

Banton will take the stand to acknowledge that he retrieved the firearm, but he did so to defend his father when it accidentally discharged, defense attorney David Walker told The Panolian last week.

Walker is representing Banton as public defender.

Keel, who is from Water Valley, was pronounced dead on the scene. He was shot in the abdomen.

The argument took place around midnight at the Harley Banton home, located in the Crossroads area between Batesville and Oxford. 

Keel was employed as a carpenter by the elder Banton.

Authorities said, shortly after the shooting, that they were unsure why Banton and Keel were arguing.

A person who is familiar with the incident said the pair was arguing about a woman, Tina Kramer, who was an eyewitness to the shooting and is a likely trial witness.  

Authorities alleged at the time that the father was armed with a shovel, and Harley Banton is facing an aggravated assault charge related to the incident.

Panola sheriff’s dispatcher Bo Matthews was expected to be called as a state’s witness after he received the 911 call from the home reporting an “accidental shooting.”

The call came from the elder Banton at 12:27 a.m., Chief Deputy Otis Griffin told The Panolian last year.

Assistant District Attorney Jay Hale, speaking to potential jurors Monday, said other witnesses would likely include sheriff’s deputies Terry Smith and Clint Roberson, who arrived first on the scene, as well as sheriff’s investigators.

Both Hale and Walker have said the trial should conclude by Tuesday.

Judge Jimmy McClure is presiding over the murder trial.