Mark White has been found not guilty on four counts he faced in the death of William Dillard, and there was no verdict returned on the remaining two counts.

Shortly after 2 p.m. Judge Kristina Cook Graham brought the jury back from their third day of deliberation.

After consulting with the jury foreman about no progress being made in the case, several jurors nodded their heads when the judge asked if they were hopelessly deadlocked.

The foreman acknowledged that they were at 11-1 and 10-2 on two of the charges, which turned out to be the count of felony murder and one of the two charges of possession of a knife.

Judge Graham declared a mistrial on the two counts.

Not guilty was the unanimous decision on the malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one of the remaining possession of a knife charges.

“The verdict is very curious,” described public defender David Dunn, but neither Dunn nor prosecutor Herbert “Buzz” Franklin would elaborate further due to the potential of retrying the two charges.

Disappointed and emotional family members were in disbelief as the verdict came back.

Judge Graham will rule on Tuesday regarding probation violation matters stemming from a previous case. White will remain in custody until then.

 

Walker County Messenger