(RALEIGH) -- Jury selection in the trial of a Raleigh man accused of raping and murdering a member of the state Board of Education begins Monday. Thirty-two-year-old Jason Williford is accused of sexually assaulting and murdering Kathy Taft in March 2010.

After a pretrial hearing in February, Taft's daughter Paige Fuqua said it was strange to be in the same room with the man accused of killing her mother. "He's tall and he's big and I just think about my poor little mom and that's the hardest part for me is looking at him," said Fuqua.

During February's hearing, Williford pleaded not guilty. Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby has said he is pursuing the death penalty if Williford is found guilty.

The trial is expected to take four-to-six weeks.