Notes from the courtroom: Howard murder trial begins

Here's a report from Denise, who has spent the morning in the courtroom:

The long-anticipated murder trial of Erwin Howard got underway in Los Angeles with Deputy District Attorney John Lewin presenting about half of his opening statement over the first nearly two hours. Howard is accused of killing his former wife, El Segundo resident Julia "Deede" Keller in July 2004.

Dozens of Keller's friends and family members are in the courtroom. Before the jurors entered, many of them were wearing buttons with the South Bay Realtor's photograph on them. This raised the ire of defense attorney Andrew Flier. Flier and Lewin could be heard outside the courtroom in a heated discussion. Flier accused Lewin of orchestrating a ploy for sympathy.

Lewin came back into the courtroom and talked with the group and lightly suggested that tactically the buttons were not a good idea. People wearing them removed them.

During the opening statement, Lewin detailed in a chronological fashion all of the physical and circumstantial evidence he believes shows Howard killed Keller. Most of the evidence comes from those in the close-knit El Segundo community, who noticed Howard's comings and goings around Keller's residence in the weeks preceding her death, as well as computerized records from Howard's job at the American Airlines maintenance hangar at LAX.

In addition, it appears a lot of evidence will be by way of the former couple's friends and family who will relate to the six-man, six-woman jury conversations they had with Howard and Keller about their relationship before her disappearance and death.

Keller was missing for several days before her body was found in the trunk of her car in San Diego.