The trial of a University of Texas student accused of killing and mutilating a 21-year-old woman began Monday in Austin.

Colton Pitonyak is accused of killing Jennifer Cave in August 2005. Police say he left her partially dismembered body in his campus-area apartment and then fled to Mexico with another woman.

Ninety-four potential jurors appeared at the 147th Criminal District Court at the Travis County Courthouse in downtown Austin.

State District Judge Wilford Flowers summoned a surplus of potential jurors for jury selection. He said he's concerned that some potential jurors would already have opinions about the case because of pretrial publicity. The trial is expected to last a couple of weeks.

Pitonyak is a Little Rock, Arkansas native who was studying finance. He could face life in prison if convicted. Defense lawyer Sam Bassett said the 24-year-old has declared his innocence.

The jurors were cleared out in the afternoon for Pitonyak to be arraigned. He was clean-shaven and wearing a suit. He pleaded "not guilty" in a calm but steady voice.

Cave was a Corpus Christi native and had just landed a job as a legal secretary at an Austin law firm. Police say she went out to dinner with Pitonyak and was never heard from again.