Lumpkin jury begins hearing murder case

MARIETTA - A Lumpkin County jury has begun hearing the murder case against a Cobb County man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and her mother.

30-year-old Michael Buttram is charged with killing 19-year-old Tina Cantrell and 41-year-old Mildred Cantrell at their Mableton home in 1999.

Jury selection began in Dahlonega November third and took more than a week. The proceedings were then moved to Marietta where the trial is taking place.

A judge ordered that the jury, which is being sequestered, be picked from outside Cobb County because of pre-trial publicity in the Atlanta area.

The trial is expected to last into next week.