ANDERSON -- The murder trial of a man accused of beating a 14-year-old Anderson High School freshman to death in September is expected to start in earnest Wednesday after jury selection was completed Tuesday.

Jesse Lee Pitts, 21, is charged with murder for allegedly bludgeoning to death Amanda Brinker with a jack handle on Sept. 20 at Edgewater Park. Pitts is being held without bond at the Madison County Jail, and faces 45 to 65 years in prison if he’s convicted.

Prosecutor Thomas Broderick Jr. said the trial is expected to last through Friday, and possibly won’t conclude until Monday. He said he expects several Anderson police investigators to testify Wednesday, as well as Brinker’s mother.

“We’ll start laying some general foundation in the case,” said Broderick, adding the state will likely rest its case on Friday.

Anderson attorney Jason Childers, Pitts’ public defender, declined to comment about the trial.

Police and prosecutors haven’t released a clear motive for the homicide. But authorities believe Pitts picked up Brinker at her bus stop the morning of the slaying and then drove to the park. They smoked some marijuana, and he then allegedly beat her with the jack handle. The two had been acquaintances for several months before the incident, investigators have previously said.

Brinker was lying off a walkway when police found her. Her pants had been unzipped and her belt loosened. DNA test results, however, showed Pitts had not sexually assaulted her.

Pitts was arrested shortly after Brinker’s body was found. He made the initial 911 call to police, telling them he had discovered Brinker’s body in the park while on a walk. Investigators became suspicious of Pitts, however, because Brinker’s body was somewhat covered and would have been difficult to see from the walking trails.

During questioning, Pitts ultimately admitted to beating Brinker, according to court documents. An autopsy revealed that Brinker died of “multiple blunt-force injuries” to the back of her head. She had been struck seven or eight times.