UPDATE: It’s back to square one for prosecutors after a mistrial was finally declared in the murder trial of a 27-year-old Dayonte Resiles who is accused of fatally stabbing a Davie woman in 2014.
Broward County Judge John J. Murphy III declared a mistrial Wednesday after one juror said she did not find Resiles guilty after the panel said they had a verdict. The defendant made national headlines after escaping from the Broward County Courthouse in 2016.
Dayonte Resiles was convicted Tuesday of manslaughter in the 2014 death of Jill Halliburton Su, but the jury then reversed the verdict because one juror flip-flopped.
The whole fiasco could lead to a mistrial in a Broward County murder case.
Just as the verdict was read, one juror objected and said that “guilty” was not her verdict.
The presiding judge said that if a unanimous verdict could not be reached, he would declare a mistrial.
Resiles faces a possible death sentence if convicted. If convicted of manslaughter, Resiles could have been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
The judge set a date of Jan. 3 to select a new jury for the retrial.
ORIGINAL STORY:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Its the fourth day of deliberation for jurors in the murder trial of Broward County’s Dayonte Resiles.
The panel was allowed to review witness testimony over the weekend.
Jurors told the judge they needed more time to decide the seven-year-old murder case in Broward County.
Dayonte Resiles is on trial for the murder of Jill Halliburton Su at her home in Davie in 2014.
Jurors deliberated yesterday but could not reach a verdict.
They asked to go over the testimony of Halliburton’s son, but they were told that wouldn’t be available until today.
Su’s son testified that he discovered his mother’s bound body in a bathtub with some 20 stab wounds.
In closing arguments, the state to physical evidence they say ties Resiles to an apparently botched home invasion that resulted in the stabbing death of the 59-year-old woman.
The defense argued that validity of DNA samples calling them flawed. They also disclosing other unidentified fingerprints were also found in the home which raises reasonable doubt.
They also argued that Resiles’ alleged prints were inconsistent throughout the scene.
Resiles escaped from a Broward County courtroom after his arrest on murder charges
Two years after he was arrested and charged with Su’s murder, Resiles made headlines with an infamous escape from custody during a court appearance. He was later found hiding out in a Palm Beach County motel and apprehended.
Listen to Full Rigor podcast on Resiles’ courtroom escape and the circumstances of his murder charge.