Olathe ? Testimony in the case against John E. Robinson Sr. will begin Sept. 30, the judge determined Thursday.

It was not clear from the statement by Judge John Anderson III whether opening statements from attorneys also would be given Sept. 30, or if they would be given late next week once a jury is selected. Originally, witnesses were to report to Johnson County District Court on Sept. 23.

For four days, attorneys have been screening 600 of the 1,200 potential jurors summoned for Robinson’s trial on charges of killing three women.

“We’ve never been through a process of this magnitude,” said Anderson, who has placed importance on not rushing jury selection.

The pace has been slow because of the sheer volume of potential jurors and the complexity of the issues they must discuss with attorneys pretrial publicity, their view on the death penalty and their view on sadomasochistic sex and other lurid practices.

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 600 potential witnesses have been identified from 30 states and Canada. In addition, prosecutors have assembled more than 11,000 pages of documents.

The trial is expected to last four to six weeks. Robinson, who was arrested June 2, 2000, also faces murder charges and the death penalty in Missouri, for the deaths of three women who were found in barrels in a Raymore, Mo., storage locker.

Jury selection resumed Thursday with more than 100 people explaining why serving on the trial would cause personal hardship and they should be excused from further consideration.

After more than seven hours of screening Wednesday, attorneys had processed 37 potential jurors. More than 300 people were excused Monday and Tuesday.

Eleven people nine men and two women were kept Wednesday for the next round of questioning. Twelve jurors and five alternates are needed. In all, 51 potential jurors are needed for the final round of questioning, because of “strikes” each side can use to remove jurors.

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.