A Connecticut judge has declared a mistrial after the jury failed again to reach a verdict in the trial of a Bloomfield woman accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her ex-husband during a bitter child custody court case.
Jurors in Hartford Superior Court were deadlocked at the end of the second full day of deliberations, which began Wednesday.
“My client’s relieved, even though it wasn’t an acquittal, it was a mistrial. We suspect the vote was in her favor for an acquittal and we’re hoping that this ends the matter because it’s been a tremendous ordeal for two and a half years for my client and she survived,” said defense attorney Hubert Santos.
The jury sent three notes to Judge Edward J. Mullarkey telling him they were divided on whether to convict former Bloomfield resident Tiffany Stevens of attempted murder.
Stevens denies allegations she paid $5,000 to a maintenance man to kill her ex-husband, Eric Stevens, in 2012. The plot wasn't carried out.
Defense attorney Santos motioned twice for a mistrial, but both times, Mullarkey sent the jury back to make another attempt at a unanimous verdict.
The third note came around 4:30 p.m. indicating the jury once again failed to reach a decision.
Santos suggested Eric Stevens and the maintenance made up the story.
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"I think in the final analysis, they never believed that Tiffany had any intention of hurting her husband," Santos said of the jury, which he described as attentive and intelligent.
Santos said the family is going back home to New York to relax and that the court will notify them down the line of the next step.
"I'm relieved too and I'm looking forward to having a big pasta dinner," he said with a laugh.
