Olathe ? After a few hours of questioning it became clear Wednesday that the public is aware of the lurid allegations in the murder case against John E. Robinson Sr., and that a jury will not be impaneled quickly.

Attorneys slowly and methodically narrowed a jury pool that began Monday with 600 people. Six at a time, potential jurors sat in the jury box and discussed their exposure to the case, their attitudes toward the death penalty and their views on sadomasochistic sex, an activity Robinson is alleged to have been involved in.

As the second phase of questioning began Wednesday, only four people were kept for the next round of questioning. Twelve jurors and five alternates are needed. That means 51 potential jurors are needed for the final round of questioning, because of “strikes” each side can use to remove jurors.

Robinson, 58, is charged with killing Suzette Trouten and Izabela Lewicka, whose bodies were found decomposing in barrels on land Robinson owned in Linn County. He’s also charged with killing Lisa Stasi, who has been missing for 17 years. He faces the death penalty.

More than 300 people were excused Monday and Tuesday. Judge John Anderson III said the second round of questioning was critical.

“It’s not the sort of thing that can be rushed,” Anderson said. “Obviously, we’ve been optimistic on how quickly we can go through folks.”

Jury selection is now expected to last much of a second week, with Robinson’s trial running as long as six weeks.

Anderson said it was still possible that the remaining 600 potential jurors from the 1,200 originally summoned may be called back. The jury pool is the largest ever summoned for a case in Johnson County.

Defense attorney Patrick Berrigan said the media coverage since Robinson’s arrest June 2, 2000, had painted Robinson in a bad light. Earlier motions to change the venue of the trial or dismiss all 1,200 potential jurors because of the publicity have been denied.

Berrigan also asked jurors whether they would be able to weigh mitigating circumstances during the penalty phase of the trial, if Robinson is found guilty.

The defense has said that it will present evidence that Robinson suffered from one or more mental conditions that could have impaired his behavior. Insanity is not a defense in Kansas for the death penalty, but could be used as a mitigating factor to show that a person did not merit the death penalty.

All 1,200 potential jurors answered a lengthy questionnaire earlier in the summer, which addressed such subjects as pretrial publicity and views on capital punishment. A third selection phase will occur before the 12 jurors and eight alternates are seated.

Robinson also faces the death penalty in Missouri, where he is charged with the deaths of three women whose bodies were found in barrels in a storage locker at Raymore.