Was it murder when she shot him? Jurors can't decide in 2018 fatal shooting near West Palm
WEST PALM BEACH — A judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a suburban West Palm Beach woman charged with murdering her boyfriend in 2018.
Jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on the first-degree murder charge that Barbara James-Tolbert faced in the Sept. 12, 2018, shooting death of Albren Banks. They did find her not guilty of animal cruelty.
Circuit Judge Daliah Weiss on Friday set a new trial date for November and ordered that Jean-Tolbert remain in custody without bail. A hearing on the new trial is scheduled for Thursday.
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Attorneys for James-Tolbert, now 29, claim she acted in self-defense in the fatal shooting at the St. Andrew's Palm Beach Condominiums, near Florida's Turnpike and Belvedere Road.
On the day of the shooting, Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies found Banks, who was 25, at a neighbor’s home bleeding from his abdomen. His dog also was found shot.
A neighbor who tended to Banks' wound told investigators that Banks uttered that James-Tolbert shot him because she was angry. Banks died that evening at St. Mary's Medical Center.
A witness told Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators that James-Tolbert confided in him that she shot Banks and his dog.
In later court filings, attorneys from the Palm Beach Couth Public Defender's Office wrote that James-Tolbert acted in self-defense after Banks broke into her home, forced his way into her room and threatened her at gunpoint.
Assistant Public Defender Michael Dueker also wrote that James-Tolbert was intimidated by Banks' "agitated pit bull."
A neighbor told investigators there had been yelling in the residence all morning prior to the shooting and spoke of seeing what appeared to be James-Tolbert outside attempting to bring Banks back inside as he tried to leave.
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During the course of the investigation, PBSO detectives determined that James-Tolbert intentionally shot Banks and continued to follow and shoot at him as he ran out of the apartment to seek safety, law-enforcement records show.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Murder trial for woman accused of killing boyfriend ends in mistrial
