A 68-year-old Vietnam Veteran killed in his beloved recliner at the family’s Chelsea home was stabbed more than a dozen times and then bludgeoned in the head with a claw hammer, Shelby County prosecutors said Thursday.

Tracy Ward Austin was killed on March 5, 2018. A handyman – and four time convicted felon – is charged in Austin’s death.

The capital murder trial for 68-year-old Randall Anthony Gargone began Thursday after three days of jury selection.

Shelby County District Attorney Matt Casey, and assistant district attorneys Ben Fuller and Brooke Grigsby, are seeking the death penalty for Gargone if he is convicted.

Gargone’s attorneys, Mickey Johnson and Victor Portella, claim Gargone killed Austin in self-defense.

Though defendants on trial are afforded the opportunity wear “street clothes” to their trial as to not prejudice a jury, Garone opted to attend the trial in his orange Shelby County Jail uniform.

He was moved to the jail in January from state prison to prepare for the trial. He is expected to take the stand in his own defense sometime next week.

The brutal crime happened that Monday in the 5800 block of Shelby County Highway 39.

In opening statements Thursday, prosecutor Grigsby took jurors through the events that led up to the murder.

Several months before the killing, showed up at the home Austin shared with his elderly mother and his brother, offering handyman services.

Austin’s mother had Gargone fix a broken kitchen door, but the family was not pleased with Gargone’s work.

Several weeks later, Grigsby said, Gargone returned to the home asking for more work, but the family said no and sent him on his way.

“Unfortunately,’’ Grigsby said, “he came back – uninvited and unwanted.”

On March 5, Ward entered the home and went to Austin’s bedroom.

Austin suffered from the effects of Agent Orange and had numerous other health problems, the prosecutor said. He spent most of time in his recliner, where he even slept at night.

It was then, Grigsby said, that Gargone attacked Austin with the knife and claw hammer.

Austin was stabbed at least 12 times, including in the eye. He was also beaten in the head with the claw hammer.

“He tried to defend himself but it’s too much,’’ Grigsby said. “Tracy fought for his life in that moment, and he lost.”

“Blood is everywhere,’’ she said. “Tracy’s blood is even dripped down the hall and in the bathroom, yet Tracy is dead in his recliner.”

Gargone fled the scene.

The entire killing, the prosecutor said, took place over 13 minutes.

“It took him less than 13 minutes to brutally murder an innocent man,’’ she said.

Grigsby told the jurors the evidence would show that Gargone’s DNA was found under the victim’s fingernails, and his blood found on a washcloth in Austin’s recliner.

Austin’s blood, she said, was found on the ignition of Gargone’s car. The suspect was seen later that same day washing his car at Mr. Car Wash in Inverness.

The prosecutor said a forensic analysis of Gargone’s computer turned up interesting searches, including, “How long does it take for DNA evidence to come back?”

“I am confident,’’ Grigsby said to the jurors, “we will leave you no doubt that this man committed capital murder.”

The victim’s mother has since died, but his brother is expected to be among the witnesses.

Portella, in his opening statement for the defense, pointed out Gargone’s criminal history which includes two theft convictions and two robbery convictions. Gargone was sentenced in 1999 to life in prison and paroled in 2013.

The lawyer said his client had gone five years with no legal trouble, but said he struggled to find work since he was a convicted felon and relied on odd jobs to pay the bills.

Gargone, the lawyer said, saw Austin’s mother struggling to take her garage can to the street one day and stopped to help her. He then asked if she had any work that need to be done, and she asked him to work on an ATV she used to take the garbage out, and to fix the kitchen screen door.

Portella said Gargone repaired the door but needed another part and planned to return.

He said Gargone went back the home several times before March 5.

On that day, Portella said, Gargone knocked on the door and heard someone say something like, “Up here.’’

He said Gargone had never met Austin before. He went up to the bedroom and bent down to talk to Austin.

“When he did, he gets hit in the head,’’ Portella said. “Not once but twice with a claw hammer. A fight broke out.”

“He was defending himself,’’ the lawyer said. “He’s going to take the stand and tell his story.”

“He’s not saying he was never there. His DNA will be all over the place,’’ Portella said. “A felon has a right to protect himself.”