Jury seated in Raleigh political strategist's stabbing death

Jamie Hahn murder case timeline

Jonathan Wayne Broyhill, 33, faces a first-degree murder charge in the April 22, 2013, stabbing of Jamie Kirk Hahn, 29, who died two days later from wounds she received at her north Raleigh home.

Broyhill also faces charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill in the stabbing of Hahn's husband, Nation Hahn, whose left fingers were "severely sliced," according to an indictment.

The trial will last about three weeks, and if convicted, Broyhill could face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Jury selection began last Monday but was delayed when the Wake County Justice Center closed last week because of winter weather.

A close friend of the Hahns and the best man in their wedding four years earlier, Broyhill was reportedly visiting the couple for dinner on the day of the attacks.

Nation Hahn was in another room when he heard screaming, according to sources, and he walked in on Broyhill stabbing Jamie Hahn.

Suffering stab wounds to her back, chest, abdomen and cheek – according to an autopsy report – she was able to escape but collapsed in a neighbor's yard.

Broyhill was hospitalized for several days after trying to kill himself, according to his defense attorney.

Described as a "rising star" in the Democratic Party, Jamie Hahn was highly regarded in Raleigh's political circles for her work on high-profile campaigns, including the re-election campaign of former Congressman Brad Miller.

Broyhill had worked for Jamie Hahn's political fundraising firm, Sky Blue Strategies, and managed Miller's campaign funds. Miller and others have said that Jamie Hahn had planned to confront Broyhill about nearly $60,000 missing from the campaign.

Police, however, have not commented on a motive for the stabbing, and Broyhill has not been charged with any other crimes.