Mistrial In Ohio Highway Shootings

(CBS/AP)  Prosecutors vowed to retry highway shooter Charles McCoy Jr. after a jury debating his fate was unable to decide whether to lock him up behind prison bars or in a mental hospital.

A hung jury was declared Sunday after four full days of deliberations in the trial of McCoy, 29, charged with 12 shootings that terrified commuters over five months in 2003 and 2004.

County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he would retry McCoy, who could have faced the death penalty if convicted of the most serious charge of aggravated murder for the November 2003 death of Gail Knisley, the only person killed in the shootings.

"We are extremely disappointed in the outcome," said Knisley's son Brent, reading a brief prepared statement by phone. "If there's another trial and another trial and another trial, we will still be there."

"I'm always disappointed because believe it or not I truly, honestly, and with every fiber in my body believe that the right verdict of this was not guilty by reason of insanity," defense attorney Michael Miller said.

Franklin Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Schneider will meet with the prosecution and defense Tuesday to determine what happens next. Schneider thanked the jurors for their attention and diligence: "All of you gave it your all."

McCoy's father, Charles McCoy Sr., also thanked the jury for its work and said his family's thoughts were with his son and the Knisley family. The jurors, who were first summoned April 8 and heard eight days of testimony, were escorted out of the courthouse at their request and did not comment.

According to the jury note read by the judge, the panel had voted on Friday and Sunday without reaching unanimous decisions on insanity on each count. "We have no indication at this time that this will change," the note said.

Juror Bobby Collins, a retired police officer, said he was "very disappointed" when reached later by telephone. He declined to discuss deliberations. "There will be another trial, and I don't want to taint that."

O'Brien said he would not offer any kind of a deal, reports Naureen Kocot of CBS affiliate WBNS-TV.

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