The trial for Alexander Kozak, who is accused of killing Andrea Farrington last summer in the Coral Ridge Mall, is set to begin today, on Kozak’s 23rd birthday.

Kozak, who will be tried in Story County, faces a first-degree murder charge. If convicted, he faces a life sentence without parole. The trial was moved from Johnson County because of the high-profile nature of the case.

Farrington, a 20-year-old employee at the Iowa Children’s Museum in the mall, was working the museum’s information kiosk at around 7:30 p.m. on June 12 when Kozak allegedly shot her three times in the back before fleeing. Kozak had formerly worked a security guard in the mall.

Kozak, a former North Liberty resident, was captured on I-80 the next morning.

Kozak has pleaded not guilty and submitted a diminished-responsibility defense, contending that he suffered from a mental defect. Alfredo Parrish is representing him.

Jury selection will start today in Nevada, Iowa, where the trial will take place. On Monday, Judge Christopher Bruns, who will preside over the case, ruled in a hearing that the psychologist for the state, led by Johnson County prosecutor Janet Lyness, will share test results with the defense’s expert witness.

The prosecution had failed to do so, Lyness said, because it was waiting for authorization from Kozak to share the results, as required by the Iowa Code.