ELIZABETHTOWN, KY (WAVE) - After four tries neither side got it right as Brent Burke's double murder trial in Elizabethtown ended with a hung jury. WAVE 3 spoke exclusively with two jurors about what happened in the deliberation room. Both said more than half of the 12 person jury thought he killed his estranged wife Tracy and her former mother-in-law Karen Comer, but the problem was lack of evidence that put Burke at the scene.
"I came home last night I was almost in tears--I was mad," said juror # 665. "Because I know he's guilty and I don't want to see him walk and I'm afraid for those kids. If he ever gets out or gets remarried I'm afraid he's going to do it again."
Seven women and five men, all white, deliberated inside the courthouse in for four hours before sending Judge Kelly Mark Easton a note.
"You had provided to the bailiff a note which states the jury cannot agree on a verdict," said Easton in court Monday night. "Is that the note you gave the bailiff?"
The jury foreman answered yes.
Juror #14 said this is the first jury on which she's sat. She wouldn't tell us which way she leaned, but said jurors went into the deliberations with doubts about something the defense hammered in its closing arguments.
"There is absolutely no physical evidence linking Sgt. Burke to this crime," said defense attorney John Shaughnessy. "No DNA. No fingerprints. No matching glass."
She said while there was a possibility he was there, some were unwilling to vote guilty because of the "gaps in the investigation."
She said they discussed the kids testimonies at length. Both identified Brent Burke as the man inside the home the night of the shootings, but jurors were split on their credibility.
"I believe he is confused and has been pressured and is not credible," said Shaughnessy during closing arguments.
Monday night, prosecutor Chris Shaw left the courtroom through the back without talking to media. His co-council had no comment.
WAVE 3 went to his office Tuesday to find out what he plans to do next, but he wasn't there and hasn't called.
Defense attorney William Bailey's office is just around the square. He hasn't worked on this case, but he, like everyone else in Hardin County, has been following it.
"It seems to me that you're probably wasting time trying it again," said Bailey. "You ought to try to work something out if you can. If not, they might just consider dropping it."
Burke is scheduled to be back in court in late April for a pre-trial conference for what could be the start of his fifth trial. He is being housed at the Hardin County Detention Center. He declined WAVE 3's request for an interview.
Copyright 2011 WAVE News. All rights reserved.
Brent Burke
Tracy Burke (Source: KSP)
Karen Comer (Source: KSP)
John Shaughnessy
William Bailey
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