TAMPA, Fla. — After a three-week trial and hours of deliberations, jurors could not come to a unanimous verdict in Michael Keetley's murder trial. The judge declared it a mistrial Friday morning after jurors announced they were deadlocked.
- Jurors deadlocked in Michael Keetley double murder trial
- Judge declared it a mistrial; set new trial date for May
- Keetley is accused of shooting six men in 2010, killing two
- More Hillsborough County stories
Keetley, 49, has been in jail for almost 10 years. He is accused of shooting six men outside a Ruskin home in 2010 on Thanksgiving morning. Two of the men died.
Prosecutors say Keetley went to the home seeking revenge because he had been shot and robbed earlier that year. They say he believed the person responsible was there.
Keetley was an ice cream man prior to the shooting.
Jurors began deliberating on Thursday. After a short time deliberating Friday, they told the judge they were deadlocked.
He sent them back to discuss more, but before noon they announced they would not be able to come to a unanimous verdict.
Attorneys not surprised at outcome
We spoke with the State Attorney and Keetley's defense attorney after the judge declared it a mistrial. Both expressed disappointment, but were not surprised by the outcome.
“Nothing that happened here shakes our belief that he’s the man who committed these crimes," said State Attorney Andrew Warren.
“The win is getting a not guilty. This is the next best thing," said Lyann Goudie, Keetley's attorney.
The judge set a new trial date for May 11.
“We’ll talk to the victims and their families again about their willingness to go through this process and how we can do our best job to hold Keetley accountable," said Warren.
Warren did not rule out the possibility of working out a deal. Goudie says that would ultimately be Keetley's decision whether to accept a plea deal, but she finds it unlikely he would plead guilty.
Keetley was brought back to jail. A status update hearing was scheduled for April, ahead of the new trial.