Mistrial Declared in Murder Case of Sailor
A mistrial was declared Thursday after jurors deadlocked, 6 to 6, in the murder trial of a Navy petty officer charged with giving his roommate an overdose of antihistamine and putting his body in a refrigerator.
The San Diego Superior Court jurors deliberated 6 1/2 days in the case of Robert Nydegger, 43, before Judge Allan Preckel declared they were hopelessly deadlocked.
The jury Wednesday convicted Nydegger of two counts of forgery in the use of his dead roommate’s name on two checks and acquitted him of two other forgery charges.
The body of Timothy Cudd, 39, was found in a refrigerator in the back yard of the pair’s residence in Imperial Beach in November, 1988.
Defense attorney Charles Bumer argued that Cudd committed suicide with a fatal dose of Benadryl and had suffered from Huntington’s chorea, a debilitating nerve disorder. Nydegger didn’t kill Cudd, but put the body in the refrigerator because he had an emotional disorder, argued his attorney.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Amador argued for a first-degree murder conviction.
Preckel ordered Nydegger to appear today for scheduling of a date for retrial on the murder charge. Nydegger faces sentencing Dec. 12 on the two forgery counts.
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