Troy

An ill juror and other jurors' concerns over the coronavirus pandemic prompted a Rensselaer County judge on Wednesday to declare a mistrial in the quadruple-murder trial of James White, who will now be retried on charges that he brutally stabbed two adults and two children in a Lansingburgh home more than two years ago.

The 40-year-old White, known as "Jay Dub," will remain in the county jail to await a second trial for his alleged role in one of the county's most horrific and high-profile cases in years. Prosecutors said White bound and gagged the victims, placed a pillow on the side of the victims’ heads and plunged a large knife through their necks inside a basement apartment at 158 Second Ave. on Dec. 21, 2017.

The case began as much of the state's court system delayed future trials so administrators could weigh the impact of the virus. Testimony in the case went ahead with no disruptions but deliberations at White's trial were postponed on Monday and again Tuesday after one of the jurors got sick. At least two others jurors were reluctant to come to court over fear they would get ill with coronavirus. On Wednesday, County Judge Debra Young said she believed she had "no choice other than to exercise discretion and declare a mistrial." But, she added she made the decision reluctantly.

The trial had been one of the few taking place in the state in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and fear the easily transmitted virus could be spread in courtrooms. Jurors had an empty seat between them to provide a degree of social distancing. Alternate jurors sat in a closed-off section of courtroom benches typically open to the public. Members of the victims’ families sat in another section.

"This is something that is completely unprecedented, not just here but worldwide," White’s attorney, Kurt Haas, told reporters after the trial's abrupt ending. Given the health concerns, Haas said it was in the best interests of everyone for the judge to declare a mistrial. He said White was happy with the judge’s declaration and will prepare for the new trial.

"You have to kind of roll with the the punches of the trial. We've had to do this with the coronavirus as well, something that is completely unforeseen," Haas said, joined by law clerk Terry D'Aloia. "You do the best you can."

When the trial began, "We spoke about what was going on in the world and where we stood and we all had a lot of hope that we were going to get through this," District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly said Wednesday.

"We got through the entire trial and several hours of deliberations but it just couldn't go any further than that," she said. "As the time logged on, the crisis loomed down and more and more people are getting sick. I think the decision that was made is one that was made in the face of public health and we have to live with that." Outside the second-floor courtroom, Donnelly and members of her office consoled the sister of one of the victims, who was visibly upset over the mistrial.

"We're just very disappointed and my thoughts are with the family, who really needed this closure," "Donnelly said. "We still look forward to justice."

She said she was pleased with the way the trial went absent the "outside forces" that impacted it — a reference to COVID-19.

An order from the court system mandates that if a person is not feeling well or is showing certain symptoms, they cannot participate in a jury deliberation, she said. The ill juror had presented a doctor's note Monday.

Before Young ended the trial Wednesday, Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Hauf suggested other options that could have allowed deliberations to continue, including allowing the jurors to discuss their decision over teleconference or Skype. White would not accept those possibilities, prosecutors said.

The panel of six women and six men deliberated for more than 16 hours over four days after getting the case on March 24.

Last Friday, weary-looking jurors asked to re-hear the entire testimony of White and Justin Mann, the prosecution’s star witness. At 5 p.m. that day, Young asked jurors if they wanted to stay an extra hour. They responded: "We have more to discuss that will take far longer than an hour.”

They asked to be sent home for the weekend so they could return Monday and work without interruption. But by Monday, the juror was ill.

White will need to be retried on allegations that he murdered Brandi Mells, 22: Shanta Myers, 36, and Myers' two children: Jeremiah, 11, and Shanise, 5,

Mann, 26, testified on March 20 that he helped White tie up the victims before White killed them. Three of the victims were murdered inside the home after the killers arrived. Jeremiah Myers was killed when he returned from playing basketball. Mann said White told the 5-year-old girl, moments before he stabbed her: “This is like a needle. It’s not gonna hurt.”

On Dec. 26, 2017, a landlord, responding to a concerned call from Mells’ mother, discovered the bodies of the victims and called 911. They were left under a pile of blood-stained clothes.

Hauf, who prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Cheryl McDermott, told jurors in his closing argument Tuesday that police found a glove in White’s pocket when they arrested him. DNA found inside the glove was consistent with two victims — Shanta Myers, 36, and Shanise Myers, 5 — and White.

On the night of Dec. 21, 2017, White and Mann were in Schenectady when, according to Mann, White said: “We’re going to Troy... We’re gonna murder these people.”

The men took their bikes on a CDTA bus and rode it to Troy where Mann testified that he knocked on the door of the apartment, claiming he believed one of the children’s bikes had been stolen.

According to Mann, White shoved him inside and demanded he help him kill the victims or he would kill Mann and his family.

Once inside, Mann testified, White was motivated by remarks that Mells had told him. Mann said White told Mells: “You said said you were gonna send people to murder me, so me and my man are going to murder you right now.”

Mann said White also told the victims: “You all want to play with me so me and my man are going kill y’all.”

Mann testified that White maniacally killed the victims using a knife he compared to the blade used by Michael Myers, the fictional killer of the movie “Halloween.”

White testified too. He said Mann killed the victims and that he was outside — unaware of the bloodshed — the entire time, which was nearly two hours. He said he never told police because of his “principles,” adding, “ I’m old school. My mentality is ‘(expletive) the police.' ”

Haas said it was too early to say if White would testify at the retrial. “I think Mr. White thought his testimony went well," he said. "I also know what he thought about Mr. Mann’s testimony."

No date was given for the start of the retrial.