Overview

• A 15-member jury, including three alternates, was seated Monday in Becker County to hear opening statements after more than a year of postponements
• Prosecutors showed body-camera footage of Mitchell in all black with a crowbar and a sock-covered flashlight as evidence of a planned break-in
• Defense attorneys portrayed her entry as a welfare check driven by grief over her father’s death and concern for her stepmother’s Alzheimer’s care
• Stepmother Carol Mitchell testified that the intrusion left her feeling “extremely violated” and that she only returned home after installing new security measures
• If convicted of burglary or possession of burglary tools, the state Senate could vote to expel Mitchell and the DFL would lose its one-vote majority pending a special election