LANCASTER – Selection is underway for a Lancaster County Investigating Grand Jury. The grand jury, the sixth in the history of Lancaster County, will hear testimony in unsolved major crime cases. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said her office will continue to do everything it can to assist law enforcement with the investigation of unsolved cases. A county-wide grand jury is an effective tool that can be implemented to move such investigations forward and hopefully find answers for victims’ families. Lancaster County residents will be selected to serve on the jury that could aid prosecutors in determining whether criminal charges are to be filed. Lancaster County Judge Merrill Spahn will oversee the county-wide grand jury. The grand jury serves as an investigative tool for police and prosecutors. Strict secrecy rules govern throughout the grand jury’s existence. A total of 38 jurors will be impaneled with 23 permanent and 15 alternates. Sessions will be held monthly, beginning in October, and continue for 18 months. Prosecutors could extend for six months after that if needed. The public cannot sit in on the proceedings. Previous grand juries were impaneled in 1995, 2001, 2005, 2011, and 2017. The grand jury panel assembled in 2017 heard testimony in eight unsolved homicide cases and, as a result, charges were filed in four of the cases.
