UPDATE | Judge denies motion for change of venue in Seman case

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Maureen Sweeney today denied a motion by defense attorneys to move the capital murder trial of Robert Seman out of Mahoning County because of intense publicity.

The judge did say she would revisit her ruling should there be difficulty in picking jurors in common pleas court, which starts in earnest Tuesday. Jurors reported for orientation Friday.

Seman, 47, of Green Township, could face the death penalty if convicted of the deaths of Corinne Gump, 10 and her grandparents, William and Judith Schmidt after an arson March 30, 2015, at their Powers Way home on the South Side the day Seman was to go on trial for raping the girl.

Judge Sweeney had a hearing earlier in the day.