Updated 10/11/2011 08:58 PM
Jury to continue deliberations Wednesday in McElheny trial
There is still no verdict in the Joseph McElheny murder trial. The jury wrapped up its third day of deliberations and now it looks like they may not be able to reach a verdict on all of the charges. Solomon Syed has more.
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TROY, N.Y. -- This jury has deliberated for about 27 hours, more than one full day, and Joseph McElheny's fate still hangs in the balance and it appears it could stay that way for quite some time.
The jury dropped a bombshell Tuesday afternoon telling the court they're stuck on three of the counts facing the stay at home dad accused of murdering his four-month-old daughter, Ina.
That also means they've reach an agreement on six of the nine charges in this case and while that may seem like progress, it might not be. They have to be unanimous on every count and if they're not, then this case ends with a hung jury on those counts and the judge could issue a mistrial.
One thing we can say with certainty, based on the fact that the jury agrees on six of the nine charges, that means they have ruled out murder.
Before that big development, the jury asked for testimony from the autopsy pathologist to be read back to them, specifically, the parts about Ina's ruptured small intestine, which caused the infection that killed her.
The prosecution argues McElheny abused his daughter. The defense maintains he's innocent and that ibuprofen may have caused the intestine to rupture.
Now the pathologist testified it's the result of blunt force trauma, but couldn't completely rule out ibuprofen either. Ina was given the painkiller just days before death and the FDA warns it can actually cause intestinal breaks in some rare cases.
With so many questions surrounding the evidence, will the jury be able to reach a verdict on all the charges?
They'll be back at it Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. to see if they can.