Mistrial Ruled in Case of Slain Woman, Fetus
The murder trial of Francisco (Frank) Gerolaga, a career Navy man from Walnut prosecuted for the 1991 deaths of his wife and the 7-month-old fetus she was carrying, has ended in a mistrial.
A Pomona Superior Court jury returned late Monday, deadlocked 11-to-1 to convict Gerolaga, 30, on second-degree murder charges. A new trial was set for March 16.
A Navy machinist stationed at Long Beach, Gerolaga was accused of shooting his wife, Vicki, 25, with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun during a mid-afternoon argument in the couple’s bedroom. The fetus died after being taken from her body by Caeserean section.
The defense argued that the Gerolagas’ 3-year-old son, Michael, picked up the gun from the bed and accidentally fired the fatal shot.
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