The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

After multiple delays, the trial for the man accused of murdering Kelsie Schelling is underway in Pueblo this week. Jury selection in the Donthe Lucas trial began Monday and is expected to last the majority of the week.

Schelling, who was eight weeks pregnant at the time she went missing, was last seen in Pueblo on Feb, 4, 2013 when she met Lucas, her boyfriend at the time, to discuss her pregnancy. Lucas was arrested in December 2017 and has since been held on first-degree murder charges in the case. He has pled not guilty to the disappearance of Schelling, whose body has never been found.

According to testimony in pre-trail hearings, Lucas was the last person to admit to seeing Schelling after she traveled from Denver to Pueblo to see him following a doctor appointment that confirmed her pregnancy. Following her disappearance, Lucas is seen on video survillience withdrawing money from her bank account.

Days after Schelling went missing, her car was seen on video in a Pueblo Walmart parking lot where an unknown male is seen getting into the car and driving away. Her Chevy Cruze was later found in the parking lot of St. Mary Corwin Hospital in Pueblo.

The trail of Lucas is expected to continue through the beginning of March.

On the Facebook page Help Find Kelsie, Kelsie’s brother Colby Schelling expressed his emotions as the trail began Monday morning, Jan. 25.

“Today is the start of the trail. It’s hard to believe that after almost eight years this day has finally come. So many emotions are flooding through us right now: sorrow, fear, shock — but also hope,” Colby wrote. “Mom and Dad have been warriors for you, Kels. They have been fighting for you since day one. And you wouldn’t imagine the amount of people that have supported us through the hardest days of our lives. Together, as a family and community, we’re still here for you. We haven’t forgotten about you — not even for a moment. We love you so much, sis.”

Kelsie is the daughter of Doug Schelling, Holyoke, and Laura Saxton, Yuma. She is a 2009 graduate of Haxtun High School.