Mistrial declared after jury can't reach a verdict in West Chester quadruple homicide case
The jury in the West Chester quadruple homicide trial of Gurpreet Singh said they cannot reach a verdict, thus resulting in a mistrial, Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Greg Howard announced Friday.
The 40-year-old Singh was on trial for the shooting deaths of his wife, Shalinder Kaur, her parents: Hakikat Singh Panag and Paramjit Kaur and his wife’s aunt, Amarjit Kaur.
When asked if the state will seek a new trial, Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser replied: “Yes, hell yes.”
Earlier Friday, the defense team for the Singh moved for a mistrial over potential misconduct by two jurors who were fighting and name-calling after jurors deadlocked Thursday.
Here is a sample of some of the issues cited by the state early Friday:
Juror No. 111 called No. 83 “an idiot.”
Juror No. 111: “I have raised my voice at her. I’m just not always going to be able to keep my composure.”
Other Juror: “The two of them are causing a delay while they argue. They will never be open to other juror’s opinions.”
Other Juror: “We have two jurors who are extremely aggressive. They are basically screaming at each other.”
Judge Howard went into his chambers to weigh the motion.
He determined there was no evidence of juror misconduct as he denied the defense’s motion.
Judge Howard said the juror in question, No. 83, was following the law.
Instead of siding with one side or the other, Howard brought the jury in and handed them a form to fill out. The form had two options: Either continue deliberating or further deliberations will not do any good.
When they returned, they told Judge Howard they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
If Singh would have been found guilty, he could have been given the death penalty.
Enquirer media partner Fox 19 provided this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Will state will seek a new trial for man accused of killing family?
