Mistrial Declared in Murder Sentencing
A mistrial was declared Monday after a jury deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of death for a 40-year-old sex offender convicted of the 1993 torture and murder of two boys in the Palm City neighborhood of San Diego.
Scott Thomas Erskine, 40, had been convicted in the deaths of Charlie Keever, 9, and Jonathan Sellers, 13. Erskine is serving a 70-year sentence for raping a woman six months after the slayings.
Superior Court Judge Kenneth So set a hearing for Wednesday for the district attorney’s office to announce whether it plans to retry the penalty portion of the murder trial.
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