Tulsa County Jury Selection Begins In Kayla Ferrante Murder

Jury selection in the trial of murder victim Kayla Ferrante, began Tuesday. Prosecutors said she was shot to death in a case of mistaken identity, they said Edwin Daniels fired shots into her car, thinking a rival gang member was inside.

Kayla graduated from Memorial High School in 2012, a year early, and decided to devote her life to working with special needs kids. Those dreams were cut short when she was shot the day after her graduation.

At the time of Kayla's graduation, she and her family were thinking about her future, and never dreamed her life would be over just one day later.

After her family graduation party the next afternoon, she went to a friend's house.

"The last thing I said to her at my mom's party that day, we gave each other a big hug and said we loved each other, and that was the last time I saw her," Kayla's father, Paul Ferrante, said.

Her boyfriend was taking her home, and just as he got to her mom's house, someone fired six shots from a high powered rifle into the car. A bullet slammed through the back of the passenger seat, where Kayla was sitting, and out her chest.

11/12/2013 Related Story: Suspect In Kayla Ferrante Murder Convicted On Multiple Unrelated Charges

"I ran to her. She was slumped in the seat. I could see her bleeding. I put my hand over her to stop the bleeding. I begged her to stay with me. I told her I loved her," said Roxanne Thornton, Kayla's mother.

Citizens raised $10,000 for a reward fund to catch the killer, but months later when police captured Edwin Daniels, it wasn't through a Crime Stoppers tip, so the money was donated to a charity called Kayla's Kids to help special needs kids.

Police reports show a witness told police Daniels fired into the car because he thought rival gang members were inside. They said he had buried the murder weapon in the backyard at his aunt's house, which is where officers recovered it.

After more than two years, Daniels is now going to stand trial for Kayla's murder.

Daniels has already been sentenced to 300 years in prison for other crimes he's committed, armed robbery, assault and kidnapping.

The arrest report for Daniels indicates that the prosecution will be relying on-several witness who claim Daniels admitted everything to them.