Jury Deadlocked in Broderick Trial : Courts: The judge declares a mistrial when the jurors can’t decide if La Jolla socialite is guilty of murder or manslaughter. She admitted to the killings.

A mistrial was declared Tuesday in the case of La Jolla socialite Elisabeth (Betty) Broderick, who is accused of killing her ex-husband and his new wife.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Whelan declared the mistrial after the jury reported that it was deadlocked after four days of deliberations.

Shortly before declaring the mistrial, Whelan sent the panel back to the jury room to consider whether there was anything the court could do to help it reach a decision. But jurors returned about 15 minutes later and reported themselves hopelessly deadlocked.

Whelan scheduled a hearing next Tuesday to discuss a new trial date.

The defense admitted that Betty Broderick fired the fatal shots a year ago that killed prominent San Diego attorney Daniel Broderick, 44, and his second wife, Linda, 28. But defense attorneys contended Betty Broderick, 43, was driven to the shootings by years of emotional abuse from her ex-husband. Their 16-year marriage ended in a messy four-year divorce and child custody battle.

Prosecutors contended that Broderick was a jealous, vindictive woman who carried out what amounted to an execution after years of planning.

Broderick displayed no emotion when the jury informed the judge of its inability to reach a verdict. Two of her four children, Kim, 20, and Lee, 19, who testified during the trial, stayed away from the courtroom and were with relatives in Colorado.

In announcing they were deadlocked, jurors indicated they could not decide whether the shootings were murder or manslaughter.

Whelan thanked the jury for its service before discharging them.

“Obviously, it’s a shame we can’t have a final resolution but that’s the way these things come out some times,” he said.

Broderick, 43, was taken back to the Las Colinas women’s jail pending further court proceedings.

Jurors declined to comment to reporters and attorneys in the case. “I’m disappointed,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Kerry Wells said. “I thought the evidence supported a verdict. Obviously there were a lot of emotional issues in this case. There has been a lot of opinion going both ways, so I knew it was going to be difficult.”

Defense attorney Jack Earley, who portrayed Betty Broderick as another victim in the case, said he was not surprised by the inability of the jury to reach an agreement.

“I don’t think this is the kind of case where it would be easy to get a unanimous verdict,” Earley said.

The defense attorney said he would be receptive to negotiating a possible plea bargain to avoid going through a second trial.

“Obviously, if they offered something I felt was appropriate, I would advise my client to take it,” he said. “That would serve both ends without having to have another trial.”

There was no immediate comment from prosecutors regarding a possible plea bargain.

Earley has said he believes the Broderick case is a manslaughter rather than a murder case.

Daniel and Linda Broderick were shot a year ago in the bedroom of their luxury Hillcrest-area home. Daniel Broderick, a former county bar president, and Linda, his 28-year-old wife of five months, were shot to death before sunrise on Nov. 5, 1989.

The most dramatic evidence at the trial was presented by prosecuting attorney Wells when she played tape recordings of obscene phone messages the defendant left for Dan Broderick and their two young sons.

In an especially searing message, Betty told Dan, “Stop screwing (Linda) long enough to return my calls,” and then warned him, “You’re making me mad. I’ll kill you.”

Betty Broderick has been held without bail since she surrendered to police the day of the slayings. While she has admitted shooting the couple, she insisted she had gone to the house to kill herself and fired only when she was startled by shouts from Dan Broderick.

Earley implored the jury to consider his client’s mental state, saying: “You’ll never find a woman who went through a divorce like she did.”

Friends of Dan and Linda Broderick, some of whom testified for the prosecution, had argued that Betty was a greedy, vicious woman who alienated Dan and then became obsessed with vengeance against him and Linda.

A prosecution psychiatrist described Broderick as a “narcissistic, histrionic” woman who ruthlessly used her children as pawns in her quest for revenge.