RICHARDSON

WARWICK — Jury selection is set to begin today in Kent County Superior Court in the retrial of James Richardson for the slaying of Margaret Duffy-Stephenson, of Warwick, in 2005.

Richardson is charged with first-degree murder and burglary. His first trial, last year, ended in a hung jury.

Duffy-Stephenson, 37, a teacher’s aide for special-needs students in East Greenwich, was found stabbed to death on Nov. 18, 2005, after she returned home early from a family wedding in Florida. Her husband and the couple’s 3-year-old son, Robert, had stayed in Florida to visit with relatives.

Duffy-Stephenson was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs with stab wounds to the neck and body. The police said her attacker ransacked a downstairs office and $11,000 from a locked safe.

Investigations focused on Richardson in the days after the death. He worked for the landscaping business owned by Duffy-Stephenson’s husband, James Stephenson III, and he routinely house-sat for the family when they went on vacation.

Richardson has been held at the Adult Correctional Institutions since his arrest, in December 2005.

In his first trial, which lasted just over two weeks, prosecutors presented more than 20 witnesses and 171 pieces of evidence. The jury deliberated for 3½ days before reporting that it was unable to reach a verdict.

The retrial had been set to begin last November, and then was pushed back to January. However, public defender John J. Hardiman, who represented Richardson in the earlier trial, withdrew from the case earlier this year, citing a conflict.

Special Assistant Attorney General Thomas H. O’Brien will present the prosecution’s case. Public defender Mark L. Smith is defending Richardson, according to court documents.

tbuford@projo.com