Jury Deadlocks in 3rd Double-Murder Trial

In a double murder case that attracted attention on both sides of the Pacific, an Orange County jury Monday declared it was hopelessly deadlocked in the third trial of a Taiwanese woman accused of slaying her tycoon husband’s mistress and baby boy.

With jurors split 8 to 4 in favor of convicting Lisa Peng of murder, an Orange County judge said he had no choice but to declare a mistrial, setting the stage for a possible fourth prosecution.

The case, an extraordinary tale of wealth, infidelity and revenge, inspired a movie and book in China, but remains unresolved in the California judicial system. The charges against Peng have resulted in two hung juries and one conviction, which was thrown out on appeal.

Word of the jury’s impasse set off a wave of emotion in the courtroom.

Peng, 51, bowed her head and wiped away tears as Judge William R. Froeberg excused the 12-member panel. Peng has been incarcerated, either in state prison or the county jail, throughout her seven-year legal battle.

Outside the courtroom, the sister of victim Ranbing “Jennifer” Ji fought back tears.

“I think the juror system [has] problems,” said Jackie Ji, who traveled from China to attend the trial. “It’s pretty clear. The motive, the evidence, everything showed she did it.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Molko’s case relied heavily on DNA evidence showing that Peng bit Ji before her death. It was proof, he argued, that she was the killer.

“Obviously I’m disappointed,” Molko said after a mistrial was declared. “I thought the case was strong. But it’s always been an emotional case--that’s always been the problem.”

During the trial, defense attorney John Barnett admitted Peng bit the victim, but said the incident occurred days before the slaying. He also argued that Peng’s husband, Jim, killed his mistress. Ji wanted him to give her $1.1 million in cash and real estate to end their relationship, Barnett said.

In the end, the defense’s alternate theory of the murder and the prosecution’s lack of direct evidence created enough doubt among the jurors.

“They couldn’t place Lisa Peng at the scene,” said juror Dan Mac Millan, 52, a pilot from Newport Beach. “It wasn’t as clear as you’d think a murder trial would be. . . . I have doubts.”

Juror Senon Dilchoff said he believed Jim Peng was a more likely suspect.

“She’s not guilty. . . . There’s nothing proved,” Dilchoff said. “There’s no eyewitnesses, there’s nothing.”

The 1993 killings took place in a Mission Viejo apartment that Peng’s husband rented for his mistress. Ji was stabbed 18 times with a kitchen knife, and her 5-month-old son Kevin was smothered.

Jim Peng told sheriff’s deputies that he found his mistress’ body lying on a couch in the apartment. His son was found with a sock in his mouth, wearing only a diaper.

Barnett said Peng was disappointed that she wasn’t acquitted. The defense attorney said he would file a motion to dismiss the charges. He said the judge should not allow a fourth trial.

“I think it’s not possible to reach an unanimous decision in a case that’s as technical and as emotional as this one,” Barnett said.

The prosecutor said he will decide whether to seek another trial before June 29, when the case is scheduled to return to court. The judge scheduled the hearing to determine whether there will be a fourth trial.

“There’s no written rules on it, but the system historically looks at it as two strikes and you’re out, three at the most,” said veteran Orange County criminal defense lawyer Gary Proctor, who was not involved in the case. “But this is different because there was a conviction. If you’re a betting man, it’s 50-50 whether you go to the fourth trial.”

Peng will remain in custody pending the judge’s decision.

The case created a furor in Taiwan, where the Pengs lived, and in China, Ji’s homeland.

Jim Peng, who made a fortune in the radio communications business, met his mistress during a business trip to China.

When Ji became pregnant, Jim Peng arranged for her to move to Orange County. He rented her an apartment in Mission Viejo, close to the Rancho Santa Margarita home where Jim and Lisa Peng stayed during business trips to California.

The allegations touched a nerve among many Taiwanese women, who have grown frustrated seeing their husbands take mistresses on business trips to China, said Donna Lin, a Taiwanese immigrant living in Orange County.

The case, with its bizarre twists and soap opera story line, has been covered closely by Chinese language media in Southern California and abroad. Reporters for five Chinese language newspapers attended Monday’s hearing on the jury deadlock.

“I feel sorry for Lisa Peng,” Lin said. “She’s been there for seven years already. It’s just sad, the whole thing is sad. Whether she did it or not, I feel bad for her.”

Lisa Peng’s first prosecution resulted in a mistrial in 1995 after jurors deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of a conviction. The next year, an Orange County jury convicted Peng of both killings and the wealthy Taiwanese national was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In 1999, a state appeals court overturned the conviction, criticizing sheriff’s detectives for a nine-hour interview in which Peng repeatedly asked for an attorney. The appeals court also barred prosecutors from using Peng’s secretly recorded admission to her husband that she bit Ji during an argument.

In this latest trial, jurors said they spent most of their six days of deliberation bickering about when the bite was inflicted and the time Ji died.

“We tried very hard to get to a unanimous decision and we exhausted our efforts,” said jury foreman Gene Cross. “This was as far as we could go. We were beating each other to death. . . . Some said they’d rather see a guilty person go free than an innocent person go to jail.”