The jury pool was tightened on Monday for the trial of Tamir Hamilton, accused of the grisly rape and murder of Holly Jean Quick, 16, of Sparks.

Quick's body was found by her mother on Sept. 15, 2006 in the teen's bedroom of their Harbor Cove apartment at the Sparks Marina. An autopsy concluded the Spanish Springs High School student bled to death from a 2-inch-deep slash to her neck.

On Monday, a pool of 136 jurors called to the courtroom of Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer was narrowed to 36 by early afternoon.

Potential jurors were eliminated for their bias of African-Americans, strong opinions for or against the death penalty, personal ties to the case, and prejudgement of the case based on media coverage.

From these prospective jurors, 16 will be selected for the trial. Hamilton's trial is expected to start late Tuesday, and could last as long as 3 weeks.

The Washoe County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty - the first time in five years - because of the grisly nature of Quick's injuries before her death, and Hamilton's record of violence.

Hamilton is serving a life term in prison after he was convicted of the rape and beating of a 20-year-old University of Nevada, Reno student. That crime occurred about 2 weeks before Quick's death.

The Public Defender's Office cited Hamilton's untreated schizophrenia, complicated by drug use, as the reason for his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Nevada law protects mentally ill criminals from execution by lethal injection.