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The David Bain retrial is finally getting underway at the Christchurch High Court, after numerous delays.
He appeared to be relaxed and smiled as he arrived at 9:30am with his legal team and supporters including Joe Karam. He made no comment as he entered the court room.
Bain is being re-tried on charges of murdering five family members in Dunedin in 1994.
Bain, now 36, was found guilty at his first trial in 1995 and served 12 years before the Privy Council ruled there had been a miscarriage of justice and quashed his convictions. He was released on bail following the council's decision.
He has been on bail since mid 2007 awaiting the retrial. A bid to have the retrial stopped was turned down.
His defence lawyers have since been pushing for the retrial proceedings to be dropped, claiming new evidence will show Bain is innocent.
A legal ruling was made earlier in the week that the trial would go ahead.
Jury selection began on Monday out of a pool of 250 people. On Friday a group of 80 potential jurors assembled for the final jury selection. A final selection of 12, five women and seven men, were selected through a ballot system and then the defence and Crown were to make their opening address to the jury.
Security is in place, with people going through an airline-type x-ray and metal-detector system before being allowed inside.
Arthur Allan Thomas was asked why he chose to be at the court.
"It's been nearly four decades since my injustice and nothing has changed, that's why I'm here," he said.
Bain's first trial took 16 days, however this trial is expected to last three months.
On Thursday trial judge Justice Graham Panckhurst relaxed an earlier ruling on the issue of internet video coverage of the trial.
During Bain's original trial, no cameras of any kind were allowed in the courtroom.
