Seven Hilton jurors picked

LAWRENCE – Seven of 16 jurors were impaneled Tuesday in the case of a Lynn grandmother accused of torching a triple decker and inadvertently killing an upstairs family while the target of her alleged malice escaped.Kathleen Hilton, 62, has spent the past 10 years behind bars awaiting trial on murder and arson charges stemming from the Feb. 24, 1999 blaze on High Rock Street that left five dead. She purportedly confessed to setting the fire with flammable oil out of anger that her son’s ex-girlfriend, Krystina Sutherland, would not allow him to visit with his children.Jury selection in Lawrence Superior Court was scheduled to resume today and continue until the 16 seats are filled, according to Steve O’Connell, spokesman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.Defense lawyer Michael Natola said Hilton has been working in the kitchen at the state prison for women in Framingham. Natola has asked the court to suppress Hilton’s confession, claiming the woman did so involuntarily. The state Supreme Judicial Court has twice heard arguments from the case.As a result, the jury will hear some portions of the confession, including that Hilton poured scented oil on the wooden staircase and lit it with a cigarette.Although Hilton allegedly was trying to harm Sutherland, the fire killed other occupants in the building, including Heriberto Feliciano, 34, and his wife, Sonia Hernandez, 32; their daughters, Sonia, 12, and Maria, 13; and their niece, Glorimar Santiago, 11, who was sleeping over. All died from smoke inhalation.Following her arrest, Hilton was found incompetent to stand trial, mostly because she claimed her jail cell was haunted who she she could see spirits. A later psychiatric evaluation determined she was able to understand the criminal charges with the assistance of an attorney.Judge Howard Whitehead is presiding. Essex Assistant DA Marcia Slingerland is prosecuting the case.