Rafferty, who was then 16, is suspected of helping Beasley lure victims with the job offers.
Rafferty cannot face execution because he was a juvenile when the crimes occurred, but he could face life in prison.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Beasley.
Jury selection in Summit County Common Pleas Court in Akron could last several days and the judge told prospective jurors the trial could take six weeks. Opening statements and testimony are scheduled to begin Friday.
Rafferty, dressed in khaki slacks and a green, short-sleeve jersey, had a tight-lipped smile when he waved to jurors upon beng introduced by his attorney. The initial session was moved to a larger courtroom to accommodate the 56 prospective jurors.
Judge Lynne Callahan told the prospective jurors to avoid news reports on the high-profile case.
The initial prospective jurors interviewed by the judge and attorneys seemed familiar with the allegations, one describing Rafferty as having claimed he had been "brainwashed" and other calling him "somehow associated" with Beasley.
Despite the case's high profile, the judge said she wasn't looking for jurors who hadn't heard anything about it, but jurors who could put any preconceptions aside and listed to the evidence.
The body of David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va., was found on Noble County property owned by a coal company and often leased to hunters.
Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, was found in a shallow grave near an Akron-area shopping mall. He had been shot in the head.
The body of Ralph Geiger, 55, of Akron, was found in Noble County, dead of a gunshot wound to the head.
A South Carolina man, Scott Davis, after being shot in the arm, escaped by hiding in woods until it got dark. He has been subpoenaed to testify at Rafferty's trial.
Beasley was a Texas parolee who returned to Ohio in 2004 after serving time on a burglary conviction. He was awaiting trial on prostitution and drug charges when authorities arrested him.
Police have said that a halfway house he ran in Akron was a front for prostitution. Authorities said that he was a mentor for Rafferty and had befriended him.
