Jury selection begins in Tyler Flach's murder trial

Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of Tyler Flach, with the first group of potential jurors volunteering for a round of questioning that the case’s presiding judge said will start next week.

A grand jury indicted Flach, 21, of Lido Beach, on charges including second-degree murder and felony gang assault after an after-school brawl that ended the life of 16-year-old Oceanside High School senior Khaseen Morris.

Flach pleaded not guilty and has been held at Nassau’s jail since his arrest in connection with the slaying on Sept. 16, 2019.

Dressed in a navy blue blazer and slacks, Flach sat next to his defense team in State Supreme Court in Mineola on Monday as jury selection began.

“I would ask you to look deep in your hearts and see if that’s something you can do,” Acting State Supreme Court Justice Howard Sturim told dozens of potential jurors while asking for volunteers whose schedules would permit them to proceed to the next round of jury selection.

Fifteen people volunteered and will report across the street to the Nassau County Court next Tuesday for what’s known as voir dire, when attorneys for the prosecution and defense will try to seat a jury of 12 people along with alternate jurors.

The pre-screening of jurors will continue in State Supreme Court on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of this week, according to Sturim.

The judge told potential jurors Monday he expected the trial to last three to four weeks but the case, not including days off for Election Day and Veterans Day and potential half-days on Fridays, could stretch until Nov. 20.

Authorities have alleged that Flach stabbed Morris in the heart during a melee in a strip mall parking lot not far from Oceanside High School.

A group of seven young men from Long Beach — all also later indicted — went with Flach to a fight that was prearranged in connection with a dispute over a girl, according to law enforcement officials.

Authorities said Morris arrived at the Brower Avenue strip mall with his friends knowing that the ex-boyfriend of a girl he was friendly with wanted to confront him.

Morris’ family has said the teen texted the ex-boyfriend to say he wasn’t dating the girl and had just walked her home from a party.

The encounter, which unfolded about 3:45 p.m. in the popular after-school hangout area, was captured on video, according to authorities.

They’ve alleged Flach stabbed Morris after he and his friends charged at Morris and his friends.

The case attracted national attention after police initially said 50 to 70 young people watched the fight and dozens recorded it on their cellphones instead of helping Morris, before posting video to social media.

But in a reversal, police said later that only about 20 kids watched the deadly fight and as few as two recorded it.

Three of the seven friends who authorities say brawled alongside Flach could testify against him after pleading guilty in sealed proceedings and becoming cooperating prosecution witnesses, sources close to the case previously told Newsday.

Another three of Flach’s friends are currently serving yearlong jail sentences after pleading guilty earlier this year to assault charges.

Sturim recently severed the trial of another defendant, who now will stand trial separately from Flach.