Pauls Valley, Oklahoma —
Despite exhausting deliberations into Tuesday’s early morning hours a jury still couldn’t reach a verdict in a Paoli man’s first-degree murder case.
The sixth day of the jury trial for Johnny Ray Speerbrecher, 29, had a surprise twist at the end as jurors announced they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.
The unexpected announcement resulted in District Judge Greg Dixon declaring a mistrial as prosecutors currently intend to take Speerbrecher back to court in the future with a second trial.
Speerbrecher’s murder charge stems from the death of his 2-month-old son Brody Speerbrecher on March 9, 2009, who a state medical examiner concluded died from some sort of violent head trauma likely caused by a shaking movement.
Prosecutor George Burnett said there were a couple of times during Tuesday’s early morning wait jurors informed Garvin County District Court officials they were deadlocked by a 9-3 count with little chance of coming to a consensus.
“When the vote kept coming back it didn’t seem like we were going to get a verdict,” Burnett said.
“Later on early in the morning the jury came back and the foreman said there was no chance of a change,” he said. “The jury deliberated for nearly 8 hours and couldn’t reach a verdict.”
Arlan Bullard of Pauls Valley, one of two defense attorneys for Speerbrecher, is quick to point out the jury’s vote total fell in favor of the defendant and a not guilty verdict.
“It was a 9 to 3 split for acquittal,” Bullard said Wednesday.
“We’re disappointed we didn’t get a consensus, but we’re respectful of the jury’s decision,” he said. “We look forward to trying this case again if the state decides to proceed.”
Jury selection in the case started early Sept. 12 in a Pauls Valley courtroom followed by testimony that continued throughout Monday this week.
Burnett said a hung jury sometimes happens with a murder case like this one.
“As a prosecutor, and I’m sure the attorneys on the other side are the same way, you put all your heart and soul into a case,” Burnett said.
“That can happen on tough cases and the stakes are high,” he said, referring to hung juries. “There was compelling evidence on both sides.
“But it’s like a tie in a football game. It’s a little frustrating for everybody. That’s what it amounts to — a tie.”
With the non-verdict the prosecutor said its the state’s intention to retry Speerbrecher someday in a second murder trial. No specific date has been set for another trial.
“This goes back on the trial docket,” Burnett said about the case against Speerbrecher.
He added the law doesn’t allow for a lesser charge as an option for jurors in a child abuse type of murder case like this one.
Local News
No verdict comes in murder case (Update)
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