Stay with us on air and online for continuing coverage of the trial. WALB is streaming live from the courtroom.

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – [UPDATE - Dec. 3]: Court resumed at 9:05 a.m. addressing concerns related to the case.

One concern addressed by the defense was whether or not the state’s lead investigator should be allowed to sit at the table with state attorneys. Another concern addressed was if the victim, Jake Embert’s family, who will be testifying in the case, should be allowed in the courtroom to hear other testimony before giving their own.

Juror’s were brought in at 9:40 a.m. and opening statements from the state began at 10:05 a.m.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

[Dec. 2’s ORIGINAL ARTICLE]: Opening statements in Susan Embert’s retrial will begin Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. following two days of jury selection. Late Tuesday afternoon, After examining more than 100 potential jurors, attorneys agreed upon the 12-member jury, who will hear testimony in one of the area’s highest-profile murder cases.

The final jury that’ll decide the fate of the Dougherty County woman on trial for the second time for the shooting death of her husband, is compromised of eight women and four men, with four alternates.

In 2015, a grand jury indicted Embert on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Now she faces those same charges again.

Embert was found guilty of staging her husband, Jake Embert’s, death in December of 2019. Two months later she was sentenced to life in prison. In February 2024, her case was dismissed by Judge Willie E. Lockette, who cited speedy-trial violations and concerns an improper juror. The state supreme court reversed the dismissal in June 2025, and Embert was returned to custody in August 2025.

While Susan Embert was released with special bond conditions in August of this year, she’s back in the courtroom for trial this week.

Potential jurors were asked routine screening questions, including whether they have unavoidable conflicts that would prevent them from serving and whether they can decide the case based solely on the evidence presented. They were also asked whether they could hear testimony about suicide and whether they would automatically assume Embert is guilty if she chose not to testify.

Once testimony begins in the retrial, prosecutors say they plan to rely on much of the same evidence introduced at the earlier trial, while the defense has indicated its strategy may differ significantly.

Now that the jury has been selected, WALB’s cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom.

Stay with us on air and online for continuing coverage of the trial.

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