Jury Selection To Begin Tuesday In Deerfield Beach Beating Trial

Jury selection was set to begin on Tuesday for the trial of a South Florida teen accused of almost beating another teenager to death outside Deerfield Beach Middle School.

Wayne Treacy, 17, has been charged as an adult with attempted murder in the March 17, 2010 attack on Josie Ratley at a bus stop outside the school.

Police say Treacy sought out Ratley, who was 15 at the time, after she sent him text messages about his older brother, Michael, who had recently committed suicide.

Ratley suffered severe brain damage in the attack and spent over 40 days at the pediatric intensive care unit at Broward General Medical Center.

Opening statements are expected to begin July 10, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

Treacy's attorney, Russell Williams, has said Treacy was not in control of what he was doing at the time of the attack.

Williams said he had untreated post traumatic stress disorder. Treacy's brother had committed suicide five months earlier and his client had seen the body, the newspaper quoted Williams as saying.

"Win or lose, there are no winners in this case," Williams was quoted by the South Florida Sun Sentinel as saying. "It is tragic all around."

Treacy has been held without bond since the attack. He faces up to 50 years behind bars if convicted.

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