A mistrial was declared in the trial of a man accused of dismembering his girlfriend & leaving her body in Trumbull.
-- A
mistrial was declared Friday
because of a hung jury in the
case of a man accused of
killing and dismembering an
Eastern Connecticut State
University student.
The Bridgeport Superior Court
jury was in its fifth day of
deliberations when it
announced it was deadlocked
6-6 on the charges against
Jermaine Richards.
"The court is declaring a
mistrial," Superior Court
Judge John Kavanewsky said in
comments reported by the
Connecticut Post. "I don't
think any other (instruction) is
going to produce a different posture in this."
Richards is accused in the April 2013 killing
of his girlfriend, 20-year-old Alyssiah Wiley,
an Eastern student from West Haven. Her
partial remains were found in a wooded
area in Trumbull about a month after she
was last seen with Richards outside her
dorm.
Richards, 32, of Bridgeport, told
investigators he had dropped Wiley off near
the campus in Willimantic.
Shortly before her death, Wiley had tried to
break up with Richards via Facebook and he
became upset, police said. Afterward,
Richards told a friend that Wiley "doesn't
know who she's messing with" and that he
was "going to get rid of her," according to
the arrest warrant affidavit for Richards.
Defense attorney John Gulash said the
outcome was frustrating, but it was clear
jurors were conscientious about their work:
"As frustrating as it is that they weren't able
to reach a decision, I cannot in any way fault
the jurors for their obvious hard work."
The state is expected to retry the case.
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