Jury selection was expected to begin Tuesday in the murder trial of Primalton Peterson, charged in connection with the death of a man whose body was dumped in a river last April.

Mr Peterson, 22, was one of three people charged with what investigators called a failed robbery that led to the murder. His body was found in the Third Fork of the Platte River near Easton.  He had been stabbed multiple times.

The defendant is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse.

Also charged in the case were Kelli Hoard of Elwood, Kansas, and Sean Liechti of St Joseph.  Ms Hoard, 44, pleaded guilty in October to a charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Mr Liechti, 25, also pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree, and was sentenced to ten years in prison.