No verdict in Mattapan massacre trial after juror excused Monday

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - No verdict was reached Monday in the case against Dwayne Moore after a juror was excused earlier in the day.

Judge Jeffrey Locke gave the remaining jurors emphasized his instructions Monday that no jurors attempt to learn anything about the case outside of what they had heard in the courtroom.

Earlier in the day Judge Locke said one juror had done some "independent research" about ballistics evidence in the case. Locke said the juror then presented that research to other jurors.

After a number of sidebar conferences involving Moore, his attorneys and prosecutors, each of the jurors were interviewed Monday morning.

Following the interviews, Judge Locke returned to the bench and said he was confident the 11 remaining jurors remained indifferent.

The juror in question was excused from the case and an alternate was drawn from a pool of three.  Judge Locke then ordered the jury to start deliberations from the beginning.

The trial was given to jurors last week. On Friday, jurors were not able to deliberate because one of them fell ill.

Moore is charged with killing three adults and a toddler in Mattapan in September 2010. His first trial ended in a hung jury. A co-defendant was acquitted.

The jurors are from Worcester County because the defense said publicity made it hard to get an impartial Boston jury.

The judge appointed a new juror from a pool of alternates, with instructions for the jury to start deliberations all over again.

The jury went home for the day after deliberating for several hours without reaching a verdict. Deliberations are expected to resume Tuesday morning.

Cox Media Group