GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — He’s already been convicted of sexually assaulting East Kentwood High School student Mujey Dumbuya, and now, 43-year-old Quinn James is on trial for her murder.
James is accused in the January, 2018 strangulation death of Dumbuya, 16, whose body was found in Kalamazoo.
Jury selection got underway Monday in Kent County Circuit Court. If convicted of first-degree murder, James faces mandatory life in prison.
A Kent County jury last fall found him guilty of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for attacks on Dumbuya in the summer of 2017 when she was 15 years old. Judge George Jay Quist sentenced James to between 20 and 30 years in prison.
Jurors in that trial were not told that James was accused of killing Dumbuya. Investigators say James killed her to prevent her from testifying against him. He was charged last March with killing Dumbuya.
The trial in Kent County Circuit Court is expected to last at least a week. Both sides spent Monday selecting a jury. Opening statements will take place after a jury is seated.
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