Jury selection began Monday for a Stillman Valley man charged with killing his ex-wife in 2016 and setting her home on fire with their 3-year-old son inside.

Duane Meyer, 43, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated arson and one count of concealment of a homicidal death in connection with an Oct. 19, 2016, Byron house fire in which his ex-wife, Margaret “Maggie” (Rosko) Meyer, 31, was found dead.

The couple’s 3-year-old son, Amos Meyer, who was in an upstairs bedroom in the home at the time of the fire, was later pronounced dead at a Rockford hospital.

Meyer has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and has been held in the Ogle County Jail since his arrest Oct. 9, 2019.

Four jurors were selected Monday to serve on the 12-person jury following questioning by Ogle County Judge John “Ben” Roe and prosecution and defense attorneys during the process called “voir dire”, which in French means “tell the truth”.

During voir dire the judge and attorneys ask potential jurors a series of questions to determine each juror’s suitability to serve. The process typically results in some prospective jurors being excused from serving in the trial – either by attorneys or the judge.

Jury selection will continue Tuesday morning in the Ogle County Judicial Center in Oregon.

Before the start of Monday’s voir dire, Meyer’s attorney, Christopher DeRango of Rockford, again argued that the trial should be moved out of Ogle County due to pretrial publicity and social media comments pertaining to the case.

Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten argued that the trial should continue since all jurors would be questioned and screened during voir dire.

Roe denied the motion after reviewing arguments and case law, adding that DeRango’s arguments and exhibits did not “rise to the level of granting a change of venue”.

DeRango’s previous motion for a change of venue was also denied in April 2025.

Monday’s motion followed a Dec. 31 defense motion to move the trial date due to the defense’s inability to locate a former forensic scientist who had worked for the Illinois State Police and has since retired.

That motion was also denied by Roe.

The trial is expected to take three to four weeks. In previous hearings, attorneys have said numerous cellphone records and data also will be part of the evidence presented.

Maggie Meyer was a teacher at the Chana Education Center at the time of her death. She filed for divorce in 2014, and court records show the divorce was finalized in September 2016.

Prosecutors have argued that their evidence will show Duane Meyer planned to end Maggie Meyer’s life.

The defense has argued that text messages sent by Duane Meyer before the deaths were only part of a “contentious” divorce and not indicative of anything nefarious.