Jury selection has begun in the Circuit Court manslaughter trial of Less Schnabel Jr., charged with killing Mainland visitor Christopher Reuther last year on a Leeward O'ahu beach.

Schnabel, 22, is accused of punching Reuther on the side of the head April 22 in an "unprovoked assault" that led to Reuther's death two days later.

Reuther, 34, was being recruited to attend the University of Hawai'i Law School and went to Zablan Beach Park after renting a car and attending a lu'au show that evening on the Leeward Coast.

He had been looking for a place to camp and was taking photographs when he encountered Schnabel, an unemployed Nanakuli High School graduate.

Schnabel "false-cracked" Reuther by punching him near the left ear after Reuther apparently took a photo of him, the prosecutor's office alleged. The victim fell unconscious to the ground, was hospitalized in critical condition and died two days later.

The prosecutor's office won a court motion to introduce evidence of another beachfront assault committed by Schnabel in 2002 when the defendant was a 17-year-old juvenile.

The trial is expected to begin Wednesday in the court of Judge Michael Town.

Deputy Prosecutor Darrell Wong represents the state. Deputy Public Defender Debra K. Loy represents Schnabel.