Michael Madison pretrial

Michael Madison, center, between Defense Attorneys David Grant and Christine Julian, was in court March 30 for a final hearing before a serial murder trial over the death of three victims, found duct taped in an East Cleveland garage. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty is in the foreground.

(John Harper, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Michael Madison, the East Cleveland man charged with murdering three women and mutilating their corpses, will go on trial starting Monday, nearly three years after he was charged with the crime.

Madison was in court Wednesday at a final pretrial hearing in front of Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell. The judge decided that Madison may be referred to as a serial killer during the jury trial.

Madison's attorneys, John Greene, Christine Julian and David Grant, had objected to use of the moniker in an October motion and told McDonnell they plan to file a rebuttal to the decision.

"It is not a legal term, it is simply used for inflammatory purposes and it infringes on our clients right to a fair trial," Grant said.

The trial is expected to last a month. If he is found guilty of the serial murders, Madison will face either life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

Police found corpses of three women in Madison's garage in July, 2013. He was charged later that month on 14 counts, including aggravated murder and has remained in prison ever since on $6 million bond.

The rotting bodies, wrapped in duct tape, belonged to 38-year-old Angela Deskins, 28-year-old Shetisha Sheeley and 18-year-old Shirellda Helen Terry.

Procedural delays have since slowed Madison's case from going to trial, including a lengthy psychiatric evaluation and a failed motion in October to have a special prosecutor take over the case from Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty.

At pretrial Wednesday, McGinty and defense attorneys argued over language in questionnaires that will be distributed to jurors, specifically the wording of a question about whether or not jurors are opposed to the death penalty or are willing to acquit someone for murder in some circumstances.

A pool of 75 jurors will be pulled Monday morning and seated in McDonnell's courtroom. It is expected to take at least one week to select 12 jurors and two alternates.