A mistrial was declared Friday in a Texas capital murder case after the jury remained deadlocked after two days.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said, despite the mistrial, they plan to retry the murder case against defendant Billy Chemirmir, who is accused of smothering 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris and stealing her jewelry in 2018. He has been accused of smothering nearly two dozen other elderly women, also stealing their jewelry and valuables, though the jury on Friday was only tasked with determining whether he killed Harris.
“Our commitment was to get two convictions, and that does not change,” Creuzot told the Dallas Morning News.
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The case centers on the death of Harris, who the prosecution alleged was hunted by Chemirmir at a Walmart. According to the prosecution, Chemirmir saw Harris at the Walmart, stalked her around the store, and then followed her home where he allegedly killed her.
Defense lawyer Kobby Warren said he did not believe the prosecution could persuade the jury they delivered enough proof, considering the case largely rested on circumstantial evidence rather than eyewitness testimony.
“I told the jury that I don’t believe they got there,” Warren told the Dallas Morning News. “The jury, obviously at least part of the jury, felt that same way, and so they stayed steadfast.”
State District Judge Raquel “Rocky” Jones initially denied requests for a mistrial after the jury sent several notes claiming they could not come to a verdict. Instead, she encouraged them to not violate their conscience and continue deliberating. However, after the fourth note, Jones agreed to a mistrial. They deliberated for 11 hours across two days, according to the outlet.
One note obtained by the outlet implied a single person was the holdout on the verdict but could not be swayed. It did not indicate which way the rest of the jury was leaning.
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Chemirmir has been indicted on 18 counts of capital murder across two counties. He will remain incarcerated in Dallas County awaiting his next trial. Prosecutors in the other cases have not revealed whether they are seeking the death penalty.
