INDEPENDENCE - A majority of mock juriors indicated Friday they did not feel they could be fair to Michelle Kehoe if she stands trial for the death of one son and injury to another.

A majority of panelists called up for a mock jury pool at the Buchanan County Courthouse Friday said they may have reservations about whether they could be fair if they were on a real jury.

Just 14 jurors who had heard about the case said they could be fair and 34 said they couldn't be fair, said Andrea Dryer, Kehoe's defense attorney.

The hearing was held to determine whether enough prejudice exists in the county to warrant a change of venue.

District Court Judge Bruce Zager said he'll issue a ruling on the venue motion sometime next week.

"Significantly, what we learned was that there wasn't a single person who hasn't heard something about this case," Dryer said.

Kehoe, 35, of Coralville, is accused of first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment causing serious injury.

She is accused of killing her 2-year-old son Seth at a pond near Littleton in October 2008. Her son Sean, 7, was found injured but alive nearby. The three were travelling to visit relatives in Sumner, but never arrived.

Kehoe was also injured severely during the incident and spent several weeks in the hospital.

Andrew Prosser, an assistant state attorney general, said he didn't think the results were strong enough to warrant such a move. Since the case received such widespread coverage, Prosser said moving the trial won't guarantee a pool without some knowledge of the case.

"We're going to get people like that no matter where we go," he said.

Prosser said he believed it was possible to impanel a jury if the county were to have "larger than normal" jury pool, possibly of 100 or more people.

Cory McBride, a mock jury participant from Independence, said he came into the proceedings with an open mind, but he also knew a bit about the case.

"It's hard not to have knowledge of it, just from the media, and around here, everything spreads pretty fast," McBride said.

Zager ordered the proceedings closed Thursday afternoon, in part to protect the anonymity of the jurors and because of concerns about potentially contaminating a jury pool for a future trial. Jurors participating in Friday's proceeding won't be required to serve again.

If enough prejudice is found, Zager could move the trial out of the region.

No alternative venues have been considered yet. But Zager said he'll likely consider a location away from major media outlets, including the KWWL-TV broadcast, the Courier's and the Cedar Rapids Gazette's circulation areas.