Lyndon ? A judge has refused to move the trial of a Kansas man accused of murdering his wife, the wife’s grandmother and the couple’s two teenage daughters in November 2009.

Jury selection began Monday in Osage County District Court for the capital murder trial of 48-year-old Meriden resident James Kraig Kahler (KAY’-lur). The process is expected to take several days, with opening statements scheduled for next week.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the defense wanted the trial moved because of what it called “overwhelming prejudice” revealed in juror questionnaires. Osage County District Judge Phillip Fromme on Monday rejected the request, saying the defense failed to show any prejudice in news coverage.

Kahler had resigned as water department director in Columbia, Mo., several weeks before the killings at his wife’s grandmother’s home in Burlingame, Kan.