The Region : Mistrial Declared in Kyle Murder Case

A mistrial was declared in the murder trial of Ricky Kyle after jurors told a Los Angeles Superior Court judge that they were deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of convicting the defendant of killing his millionaire father, Henry Kyle, on July 22, l983, in Bel-Air. After 20 days of deliberation, jury foreman Marshall Lai told Judge Robert R. Devich that further discussions would be useless. Devich called the proceedings a mistrial after all of the jurors told him their positions would not change. Kyle, 22, hugged his wife, Kelly, and eight-month-old son, Justin. Defense attorneys called the decision a “victory.” The prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lewis Watnick, was crestfallen. “We did have what I would consider overwhelming evidence,” he said. “Ten jurors thought it was a very solid case. Watnick said a hearing on a retrial was set for June 21.