Jury selection has started in the trial of a central Illinois man accused in the 2013 beating death of his girlfriend's toddler son.

The trial started Monday in Bloomington for 25-year-old Nicholas Compton of Colfax. He is charged with murder and other counts in the death of 3-year-old Robert Cramer in March 2013 in Normal. He has pleaded not guilty.

Compton's girlfriend, Danielle Fischer, also is charged in the case. She has pleaded not guilty and is next due in court Jan. 29.

Compton is accused of hitting the boy in the abdomen, causing tissue damage that led to a fatal seizure.

Compton has insisted the child was injured accidentally.