November 27, 2010 9:31 PM
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"48 Hours Mystery:" Shootout at the Hills'
As the case against Charlene Hill goes to the jury, her defense attorneys are not the only ones who expect a quick acquittal.
"And I thought it was going to take them a very short amount of time to do that, because it was so obvious that she was scared for her life," says journalist Bev Carter.
Silvia Les-sie is one of the jurors.
"When the prosecutor asked her a question, why did she not retreat? She said, 'You don't know my husband! He was going to kill me.' I kind of felt that, she was gonna die that night," says Les-sie.
Other jurors - Quenton, Karen and Levon - who did not want their last names used, were also convinced that Charlene Hill endured years of brutality.
"You think she was afraid for her life? Schlesinger asks the group.
"Mentally, yes," Quenton says. "She thought that he was gonna come at her."
"I did believe her testimony. I found it extremely painful to listen to," says Karen.
But these jurors surprised everyone. Early on, during a break, Bailiff Mary Charles noticed one of them was in distress.
"And I could tell that she was holding her stomach and she looked nervous," Charles recalls. "And she was pacing back and forth. She says, 'They're not gonna make me change my mind; they're not gonna make me change my mind.'"
Charles says she's never experienced something like that with a juror before.
That juror was Silvia Les-sie, and the deliberations were quickly deteriorating. She describes the jury room as "very hostile."
Les-sie says she even turned her chair around in the jury room, "so I wouldn't see them lookin' at me."
Inside the jury room, the vote was 11 to 1, guilty; Les-sie was the lone holdout.
Eleven jurors believed Charlene Hill could have run out of the room. And they looked at the law, which said she could only shoot to kill if it was "immediately necessary."
"If he's across the room, he's turned away from her. Is that immediate danger?" Karen asks.
These jurors felt the blood stains told the story, proving that Danny was still at the other side of the room when he was shot by his wife.
"You had the gun. You were by the door. Walk out," Levon says. "It's that simple."
Les-sie says she tried to persuade the others that Charlene could not outrun her husband because of her leg injury.
"What are you all talkin' about? How can she retreat? Can't you see? Charlene was doing' this here," Les-sie says, limping like Charlene may have.
The lone juror would not back down. Things got so heated, it began to look like there would be no verdict.
"What did they say to you?" Schlesinger asks Les-sie of the other jurors.
"'I am sick and tired of you. I'm sick and tired of you up in here with all these different scenarios,'" she replies. "I said, 'but I believe with all my heart that she is not guilty.'"
"Her mind was made up when she went in there," Karen says. "She wasn't willing to listen."
"'Well tell me this, Sylvia. Is it OK with you that this becomes a mistrial?" Les-sie says she was asked.
"She would just say, 'I feel this way and I'm not changing it. And I don't care about the evidence," recalls Quenton.
"I said, 'Wait a minute, if it becomes a mistrial, it's because you all says she's guilty," Les-sie explains.
"..and I felt that that was an injustice," says Karen.
Nobody budged, and after two days of deliberations, Judge James Shoemake had no choice and declared a mistrial.
"We were shocked, absolutely shocked," Bev Carter says. "Everybody there, the bailiffs - everybody honestly thought that she would be found not guilty."
Now, 53-year-old Charlene Hill will face another trial, another jury and another possibility of life in prison.
"It's like living in a nightmare that's never gonna be over," she tells Schlesinger.
As she waits for the coming trial, Charlene's making plans for the ranch. She wants to build a memorial to her son, Joby, and even her late husband.
"It's kind of gonna be like a memorial meadow," she says. "This is the meadow that I'm putting out crosses for Danny and Joby … I need a place to be able to come and sit down and just talk to them."
Now, more than anything else, Charlene wants to be reunited with Jeremy and Jamie. They have refused to see their mother for more than three years.
"I love my children very much... they're my heart," says a crying Charlene.
Asked is he still loves his mother, Jeremy says, "There's a love. You know, there comes a point where you gotta let the hate go and learn forgiveness. But forgiveness is hard 'cause you can't forget."
"Nobody wins in this kind of case in the end," Bev Carter says. "Danny's dead; Charlene still loves him… she's not speaking to her children, they're not speaking to her. It's a sad situation."
"It's taken me a long time to realize that it's OK that I'm alive," Charlene tells Schlesinger, wiping tears as she stands in the meadow. "And I believe God's not done with me yet."
The Hill family civil suit has been settled.
Charlene Hill keeps all properties, once valued at $2 million. Danny's mother gets most of his $500,000 life insurance. The kids do not have to pay back the $750,000 already spent.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. "And I thought it was going to take them a very short amount of time to do that, because it was so obvious that she was scared for her life," says journalist Bev Carter.
Silvia Les-sie is one of the jurors.
"When the prosecutor asked her a question, why did she not retreat? She said, 'You don't know my husband! He was going to kill me.' I kind of felt that, she was gonna die that night," says Les-sie.
Other jurors - Quenton, Karen and Levon - who did not want their last names used, were also convinced that Charlene Hill endured years of brutality.
"You think she was afraid for her life? Schlesinger asks the group.
"Mentally, yes," Quenton says. "She thought that he was gonna come at her."
"I did believe her testimony. I found it extremely painful to listen to," says Karen.
But these jurors surprised everyone. Early on, during a break, Bailiff Mary Charles noticed one of them was in distress.
"And I could tell that she was holding her stomach and she looked nervous," Charles recalls. "And she was pacing back and forth. She says, 'They're not gonna make me change my mind; they're not gonna make me change my mind.'"
Charles says she's never experienced something like that with a juror before.
That juror was Silvia Les-sie, and the deliberations were quickly deteriorating. She describes the jury room as "very hostile."
Les-sie says she even turned her chair around in the jury room, "so I wouldn't see them lookin' at me."
Inside the jury room, the vote was 11 to 1, guilty; Les-sie was the lone holdout.
Eleven jurors believed Charlene Hill could have run out of the room. And they looked at the law, which said she could only shoot to kill if it was "immediately necessary."
"If he's across the room, he's turned away from her. Is that immediate danger?" Karen asks.
These jurors felt the blood stains told the story, proving that Danny was still at the other side of the room when he was shot by his wife.
"You had the gun. You were by the door. Walk out," Levon says. "It's that simple."
Les-sie says she tried to persuade the others that Charlene could not outrun her husband because of her leg injury.
"What are you all talkin' about? How can she retreat? Can't you see? Charlene was doing' this here," Les-sie says, limping like Charlene may have.
The lone juror would not back down. Things got so heated, it began to look like there would be no verdict.
"What did they say to you?" Schlesinger asks Les-sie of the other jurors.
"'I am sick and tired of you. I'm sick and tired of you up in here with all these different scenarios,'" she replies. "I said, 'but I believe with all my heart that she is not guilty.'"
"Her mind was made up when she went in there," Karen says. "She wasn't willing to listen."
"'Well tell me this, Sylvia. Is it OK with you that this becomes a mistrial?" Les-sie says she was asked.
"She would just say, 'I feel this way and I'm not changing it. And I don't care about the evidence," recalls Quenton.
"I said, 'Wait a minute, if it becomes a mistrial, it's because you all says she's guilty," Les-sie explains.
"..and I felt that that was an injustice," says Karen.
Nobody budged, and after two days of deliberations, Judge James Shoemake had no choice and declared a mistrial.
"We were shocked, absolutely shocked," Bev Carter says. "Everybody there, the bailiffs - everybody honestly thought that she would be found not guilty."
Now, 53-year-old Charlene Hill will face another trial, another jury and another possibility of life in prison.
"It's like living in a nightmare that's never gonna be over," she tells Schlesinger.
As she waits for the coming trial, Charlene's making plans for the ranch. She wants to build a memorial to her son, Joby, and even her late husband.
"It's kind of gonna be like a memorial meadow," she says. "This is the meadow that I'm putting out crosses for Danny and Joby … I need a place to be able to come and sit down and just talk to them."
Now, more than anything else, Charlene wants to be reunited with Jeremy and Jamie. They have refused to see their mother for more than three years.
"I love my children very much... they're my heart," says a crying Charlene.
Asked is he still loves his mother, Jeremy says, "There's a love. You know, there comes a point where you gotta let the hate go and learn forgiveness. But forgiveness is hard 'cause you can't forget."
"Nobody wins in this kind of case in the end," Bev Carter says. "Danny's dead; Charlene still loves him… she's not speaking to her children, they're not speaking to her. It's a sad situation."
"It's taken me a long time to realize that it's OK that I'm alive," Charlene tells Schlesinger, wiping tears as she stands in the meadow. "And I believe God's not done with me yet."
The Hill family civil suit has been settled.
Charlene Hill keeps all properties, once valued at $2 million. Danny's mother gets most of his $500,000 life insurance. The kids do not have to pay back the $750,000 already spent.
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