Third Jury Deadlocks in Peitz Slaying Case : Courts: Panel split on whether Palmdale man killed his wife. Prosecutors must decide whether to try him a fourth time.

For the third time this year, a San Fernando Superior Court jury has been unable to unanimously agree on whether Jeffrey Dale Peitz, 39, of Palmdale, killed his wife last year while she was watching television at home.

Judge Judith Meisels Ashmann declared a mistrial Monday when the 10-man, two-woman panel told her they were hopelessly deadlocked after nearly four days of deliberations. The panel members said they were split 8-4 in favor of finding Peitz guilty of killing his wife, Teri Lynn Peitz, 37.

In April, a jury also split 8-4 in favor of guilt, while in January a panel deadlocked 9-3 in favor of a conviction.

Outside the courtroom, jurors echoed what previous panel members had said: The lack of physical evidence led some of them to vote for acquittal.

“None of us wanted it to be hung,” said juror Michael Franz, 33, a college administrative assistant from Granada Hills. Franz initially voted for acquittal but ultimately ended up voting for a conviction.

“But I don’t think they are ever going to get 12 people to agree on a verdict,” he said.

Peitz’s attorney, Richard S. Plotin, asked that his client be immediately released, but Ashmann ordered that Peitz remain in custody at least until Wednesday to give prosecutors time to decide whether they will try Peitz for a fourth time.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Portillo, opposing Peitz’s release, argued that “Mr. Peitz has not been acquitted of anything.”

Jack and Betty Wells, the dead woman’s parents, said they want another trial, even though they admit that getting a unanimous verdict may be impossible.

“We’re angry at the system,” said Betty Wells. “It should be that the majority decides. It’s almost impossible now to get a unanimous decision on anything.”

However, Plotin said a fourth trial would be a waste of time and money.

“There is never going to be agreement among 12 people,” he said. “We need finality to this.”

Peitz’s daughter, Michelle, 17, who testified on her father’s behalf, maintained his innocence.

“My dad should be out,” she said. “My dad didn’t do it.”

Peitz, a letter carrier, was arrested eight days after the Aug. 12, 1994, shooting death of his wife. He told police that he was upstairs folding laundry while his wife was in the downstairs living room watching her favorite TV show, “Cops,” when he heard two gunshots. When he rushed downstairs, he said he saw his wife on the floor and an African American man running out the front door.

Peitz identified the man as someone who had been living illegally in a nearby house, and who had recently had an angry confrontation with the Peitzes and other Neighborhood Watch members. Police, however, determined that the man was in Michigan at the time of the shooting.

Police later arrested Peitz, suggesting that he had killed his wife because he was having an affair and because he wanted to collect on a $100,000 insurance policy.