The trial gets underway tomorrow... in the small town of Bartow, East of Tampa. Jury Selection begins in themorning....Testimony begins on Wednesday.

It proves to be one of the most watched murder trials in Jacksonville history...and the Joshua Phillips case is set to begin tomorrow.

Right now...crews are wiring the courtroom in Bartow...which is just east of Tampa...for the flood of national media expected to cover the case.

The judge has cautioned the media to use extra care when evidence is presented.

Graphic pictures of the crime scene where Maddie Clifton's body was found will be shown during the trial.

Jury selection begins tomorrow...testimony begins on Wednesday.

If convicted of first-degree murder ... Phillips ... who's 15 years old ... faces life in prison.

It's been a long nine months for the Clifton Family but another chapter in this sad story is about to close with the trial of Josh Phillips.

November 3rd...election day. Voting was one of the top stories of the day. But before the polls would close another story was unfolding on the Southside. .. a story that would captivate this city for days and months to come.

Sheila clifton makes a frantic call to police when her daughter Madeline doesn't come home for dinner.

Wednesday Nov 4... Mrs. clifton calls a radio station and makes a plea for Maddie's safe return...Volunteers begin to show up to help search the Lakewood neighborhood and a 50-thousand dollar reward is offered for her return. (Nov5th)... the following day police turn their attention to Larry Grisham..a neighbor and the last person to see Maddie. Grisham steadfastly denies having anything to do with the 8-year old's disappearance. Saturday Nov 7th. The community shares the Clifton's pain.. more than 15-hundred people show up to help in the search

By this time, the story is getting national attention.

The TV show America's most wanted airs a segment on Maddie's disappearance. Nov. 8th... And more national attention is focused on young Maddie.. after thousands of Jaguars fans don yellow ribbons during a nationally televised game.

Tuesday Nov 10..a week of anxiety and frustration comes to a horrible end.. A neighbor calls police after making a gruesome discovery in her 14-year old son's bedroom.

The search for Maddie was over..Sheriff Nat Glover makes an announcement NO ONE wanted to hear.

later that day, Maddie Clifton's 14 year old neighbor Joshua Phillips is arrested and charged with her murder.

In the days that followed, it seemed the entire community, prayed, cried and mourned the loss of.. what had become... All of Jacksonville's little girl. Nov 14th...11 days after her disappearce, thousands of people line the streets of Maddie Clifton's funeral procession to say goodbye.

While the city said goodbye to Maddie... the criminal justice system was getting to meet . Joshua Phillips. Nov 11th... a grand jury indicts Phillips for Maddie's murder. It would begin a series of court appearances for Phillips and his attorney Richard Nicols.

Nichols filed numerous motions... everything from throwing out the grand jury indictment itself... to suppressing Phillips confession to police..to request for psychological exams.
May, Phillips and his attorney win what they considered an important victory... A judge agrees to move the murder trial to Bartow... a small town just east of Tampa.

Nichols successfully argued the pretrial publicity made it almost impossible for Phillips to get a fair trial.

Both sides were able to convince the judge having two cameras in the courtroom would be a distraction... But one camera has been allowed to stay.

And now Court TV will provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of a trial that may not last as long as the agonizing search for the littlest victim in this case...Maddie Clifton.

Newschannel 4 will keep you up to date on the latest developments in the case.
Our live team coverage begins today at five from Bartow.