Trial gets underway in murder of Seffner jogger | Crime

Tampa, Florida -- Opening statements began Monday in the murder trial of a man accused of killing a Seffner mother while she was out on her run.

50-year-old Cu Thu Tran disappeared in September of 2007 while jogging near her home. Firefighters found her body stabbed to death in a burning van 15 miles away on Bullfrog Court on Sept 13.

During their investigation into her murder, detectives obtained a physical description of Kenneth Jackson from a witness who said he had been talking about the murder and knew details about her death not revealed in the media.

After he consented to DNA analysis, investigators were able to link him to evidence found on Tran. He was arrested on a warrant on Sept. 26, 2007.

The prosecution painted a gruesome picture of what happened. 

Tran's son took the stand Monday in the trial that is expected to take two weeks.