“Given the reaction in the jury room, in my experience, I haven’t seen the district attorney too hot to try cases when the jury spoke as clearly as they just did,” she said. “Jake took the stand, and the jury loved hearing from him. But the evidence was insufficient for a conviction.”

The jury told the judge they were deadlocked Thursday evening, but the judge instructed them to continue. They were sequestered in a hotel for the night and resumed work at 9 a.m. Friday. By 11:30, jurors again said they were deadlocked.

Johnson instructed them to continue again, telling jurors he will have to declare a mistrial if they are unable to come to a decision and that another jury will likely hear the same evidence they did and would be confronted by the same questions they had to consider.

“There is no reason to hope the next jury will find these questions any easier to decide than you have found,” the judge’s instructions said.

Jurors said then that they had come to a conclusion on one count but not the others. They also told the judge that some jurors were willing to wait a month and are not willing to consider a review of the evidence. Jurors also expressed worries about financial repercussions in their personal lives if the trial lasted longer.