Hung Jury Leads to Mistrial in Murder Case

After more than a week of deliberations, a Los Angeles jury deadlocked Tuesday in the double-murder trial of Randall Williams, who is accused of killing two witnesses.

The vote was 9 to 3 for conviction, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green declared a mistrial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jessica Dabney said in court Tuesday that she would retry Williams. Prosecutors added that they would decide in two weeks whether they would still seek the death penalty.

Jamie Navaroli and April Mahoney were found shot, execution-style, in November 1998 in West Hills. Prosecutors argued that Kenneth Leighton commissioned the killings because Navaroli and Mahoney were about to testify against him in a separate burglary case.

Leighton and Williams were tried together with separate juries. Leighton’s jury convicted him last week of both first-degree murders.

The hung jury in Williams’ case capped a trial of unusual events, including a public rebuke of Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Duarte for failing to disclose evidence.

Before she died, Mahoney allegedly told her mother, sister and police that “Randy” had shot her, and then she allegedly picked Williams’ picture out of a photo lineup.