What could be the most expensive and longest murder trial in the Yukon's history began this morning after more than a week of trying to pull together a jury.

It's also a first under the new federal legislation that provides special provisions for what are deemed mega-trials.

For the first time, for instance, the jury will consist of 14 jurors, and not the standard 12, because of the anticipated length of the case.

Christina Asp, 34, of Pelly Crossing, is charged with first-degree murder in the March 2008 death of 63-year-old Gordon Seybold of Ibex Valley, the small hamlet west of Whitehorse.

Also charged with killing Seybold is 29-year-old Norman Larue. Larue's trial is scheduled for later this year.

Justice Leigh Gower of the Yukon Supreme Court has told the jurors the trial is scheduled to go for three months.

It began this morning with an opening statement from Crown prosecutor David McWhinnie.

McWhinnie told the jurors the investigation involved a complex RCMP undercover operation.

The selection of the jury was not completed until late Tuesday afternoon, after representatives of the sheriff's office hit the streets at lunch time Tuesday to round up 25 more candidates.

It was the third time since last Friday that Gower instructed the sheriff to go out in public and get more local residents for jury selection.

Dan Cable, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, explained today the sheriff and the judge can excuse residents from serving on a jury for number of reasons.

They can be excused, for instance, if they know anybody personally involved in the case, like the accused or witnesses scheduled to testify.

He said they can also be excused for medical reasons.

Candidates can be excused for reasons of personal hardship if they are required to serve, he said.

Cable said demonstrating personal hardship to the judge has been a significant factor in this case because of the anticipated length of the trial.

Jurors, he said, are paid $80 a day.

For some, that's not enough to pay the bills, Cable noted.

He said demonstrating personal hardship for a trial lasting two or three days is one thing, but having to sit for three months is altogether another.

The court acknowledges there are those with mortgages and families to support, he said.

Cable said having to select 14 jurors instead of 12 was an additional factor in the time it took to complete the jury selection.

Because the trial had been deemed a mega-trial by Gower, instead of the normal 300 summonses the sheriff sends out a month ahead of time to recruit potential jurors, 436 were sent out for the Asp trial.

Of those, 279 were dismissed ahead of time by the sheriff for regular reasons. They ranged from student status, medical conditions or, if a person had confirmed, non-refundable travel plans.

He said of the 167 people who showed up a week ago Monday for jury selection, another 101 were excused by the judge for a variety of reasons, perhaps knowing somebody on the witness list or personal hardship.

Of the 66 left, 13 jurors were selected and the others were rejected by challenges from either the Crown or defence lawyers.

The sheriffs hit the streets last Friday afternoon to round up 20 more candidates to continue jury selection Monday morning. Gower excused 17, and three were challenged by the lawyers.

Another 25 were recruited from the streets Monday afternoon for Tuesday morning.

One never showed, 18 were excused and six were challenged, sending the sheriff out again Tuesday at lunch to find 25 more to appear in the afternoon.

Cable explained the mega-trial legislation provides for 14 rather than 12 jurors to try to ensure that over a long trial, there will still be enough jurors to render a verdict if illness or what have you becomes a factor.

The Yukon government, he pointed out, has bumped up the annual budget for legal aid services by $200,000 to make room for the Asp and Larue trials.

Cable said he does not expect the government at this time will revisit how much is paid to Yukoners required to sit on juries, given the issue of financial hardship that arose in jury selection over the last week.

It's more likely, he said, that more summonses will be sent out to cast an even wider net for suitable candidates for the Larue trial this fall.

Under the Yukon government's collective agreement, employees who are chosen to sit on a jury are given a leave of absence with full pay, with no requirement to reimburse the government the $80 a day they receive for jury duty.

Under the collective agreement for the City of Whitehorse, on the other hand, employees are also provided leave with pay for jury duty, but must give the city any compensation they receive for sitting as a juror.

Cable said the Yukon's rate of $80 per day for jury duty is the second-highest rate in Canada.