Murder Trials Here Light-Years Away from O.J. Simpson Saga

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THERE ARE NO television cameras for the trial of Sheila Lacey's accused killer. Lacey's mother sits alone in the front row of the courtroom. The defendant's relatives sit in the back. In between, the benches are vacant.

A public defender's cross-examination of a police witness lasts 60 seconds. Off to one side, a deputy sheriff thumbs through a magazine. Another dozes. A juror yawns.

This is what a murder trial looks like 2,000 miles east of Los Angeles.

In the Municipal Courts Building in downtown St. Louis, Santino Walker is standing trial on charges that he murdered Lacey when she tried to give him fake money for cocaine.

The trial started …