Jury in Klaas Case Adjourns Until Monday

Deliberations in the case of the man accused of killing 12-year-old Polly Klaas stretched into a third day Thursday without a verdict; deliberations are set to resume Monday morning.

During the day, jurors sent out some questions asking what they should do if they can’t agree on all four special circumstances alleged against defendant Richard Allen Davis.

The circumstances are kidnapping, robbery, burglary and attempting a lewd act on a child. A conviction of first-degree murder and any one of the special circumstances would make Davis eligible for the death penalty.

Jurors also asked Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Hastings for a definition of the term “merely incidental,” referring to part of their instructions stating that a special circumstance is not established if it was “merely incidental to the commission of the murder.”

In court, Hastings read jurors a legal definition of “incidental.” As for any possible disagreement, he told them at some point they could declare themselves hopelessly deadlocked on a particular issue, but, “I think, to be quite frank, it’s too soon now.”

Davis, 42, is charged with killing Polly after kidnapping her from her bedroom at knifepoint as she played with two other girls during a slumber party the night of Oct. 1, 1993. Her mother, Eve Nichol, was sleeping in a nearby room.

In his confession, given before he led police to Polly’s body on Dec. 4, 1993, Davis said he didn’t know why he took Polly and remembered little until he found himself driving around with her in the car. He said he killed her in an attempt to avoid going back to prison.