DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A juror's cellphone led to a mistrial in a murder case, leaving the victim's family devastated..
"I just wanted to throw up. I couldn't believe it, after three years and three months, this was taking place. We waited so long, Liz. So long," Gail Butler told Channel 2's Liz Artz.
Butler waited three years for her son's accused killer to go to trial. In 2013, Keith Butler was shot and killed at Cloud 6 hookah lounge in Lithonia. Police believe David Jacobs killed the father of three over a $5 cover charge.
“To hear my mother scream in the courtroom, my other brother tears running down his face, (it's) torture. It hurts. It hurts, hurts," Isiah Sayles said.
The murder trial started last week and for six days the family heard testimony and looked at crime scene photos, reliving the worst day of their life, only to see it end in mistrial.
"They shouldn't have had their cellphones the whole trial," Sayles said.
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Sayles told Artz juror No. 20 admitted to the judge he looked up evidence on his phone during the trial.
The bailiff, Sayles told Artz, did not take the jurors' phones when they went to deliberate.
The family doesn't know how long they'll have to wait for a new trial, something they said they don't want to relive again.
"Someone needs to make sure they’re doing their jobs appropriately, effectively," said Sayles.
A DeKalb County spokesperson released the following information.
“After about an hour of deliberations, bailiffs realized that jurors still had their phones and subsequently collected them. The defense was made aware of the situation and made a request that the jury be polled regarding whether anyone had used their phones to do research. One juror admitted doing so. It is unfortunate this case resulted in a mistrial. We stand ready to retry the matter, in pursuit of justice for the victim’s family.”