Stabbing death trial

After several hours of jury selection, the murder trial of an Odessa man charged with stabbing a man a to death is scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon. Christopher David Lyson, 31, is on trial in connection with the stabbing death of 26-year-old Ryan Adam Moon of Odessa.

The jury of six men and six women is scheduled to hear opening statements at 3 p.m. in Judge Denn Wahlen’s 70th District Court.

Odessa police said Lyson stabbed Moon several times in the chest and abdomen after an argument. Moon was rushed in a private vehicle to Odessa Regional Medical Center where he died about 30 minutes after he was admitted, court documents show.

A grand jury indicted Lyson in July 2008 on one count of murder. He faces five years to life in prison if convicted.

Whalen has yet to rule on a motion made Tuesday morning by Lyson’s defense attorneys to exclude photographs of two knives from the prosecution’s evidence. Assistant District Attorney Justin Cunningham acknowledged the state does not have a murder weapon and intends to argue the knives — reportedly found in a backpack belonging to the defendant — demonstrate Lyson’s propensity to carry a dangerous weapon.

Defense lawyer Dusty Gallivan said one of the knives bears the letters "KKK" and would be too prejudicial for the jury.