NORCROSS, Ga. -- The trial of a man accused of killing his girlfriend with an ax began Monday.

The killing happened around Valentine’s Day 2008 inside the couple’s home on Edgemoor Drive in Norcross, police said.

Officials said Shannon Marlow bludgeoned Patricia Rabold with an ax.

Officers went to the home to check on a report of a stolen car when they found Rabold’s body in the foyer.

SWAT officers arrested Marlow after a 12-hour standoff.

Judge Dawson Jackson's office said the case is scheduled for Monday, but jury selection had not yet started.