MONROE, Louisiana — Jury selection begins Monday in the long-delayed murder trial of Quinton Tellis, who is charged with first-degree murder in the 2015 death of 34-year-old Meng-Chen Hsiao, a Taiwanese exchange student found tortured to death in Monroe.
Tellis faces the charge in Ouachita Parish and could receive life in prison or the death penalty if convicted, prosecutors have said. Prosecutors allege he killed Hsiao to obtain her debit card; Tellis later pleaded guilty to using the card after he was caught on ATM cameras in Vicksburg.
The case has been rescheduled several times over the past decade. Officials postponed the trial in December after the death of a key expert witness, Brig. Gen. Paul Rowlett, and again in January when Assistant District Attorney Holly Jones was ill. Earlier this month, a winter storm forced another delay.
The Tellis case has drawn national attention because he also has been charged in Mississippi in the 2014 burning death of Jessica Chambers in Panola County. He was tried twice in that case; both trials ended in mistrials because of hung juries, and it is unclear whether Mississippi authorities will pursue a new trial.
Tellis, 36, has maintained his innocence. Proceedings are expected to take place in Ouachita Parish District Court. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
