THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606050351
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 55 lines
No verdict was reached in the murder trial of SEAL trainee Billy Joe Brown on Tuesday after nearly seven hours of deliberation by a jury of nine men and three women.
Circuit Judge A. Bonwill Shockley sent jurors home at 5:35 p.m. Deliberations will resume this morning at 9 a.m.
Brown, along with fellow SEAL trainee Dustin A. Turner, is charged with murdering 21-year-old Jennifer L. Evans on June 19. The two men also are charged with abducting Evans from The Bayou, a Virginia Beach nightclub, and attempting to rape her.
Both face life in prison if convicted. Turner's trial is scheduled to begin on June 25.
Testimony in Brown's trial began 12 days ago on May 24. Closing arguments were made on Monday.
On Tuesday, the jury began deliberating at about 9:30 a.m. About 90 minutes into deliberations, the jury asked again to view the videotape of Brown's confession made in Virginia Beach on June 28.
Brown's attorney, Andrew Sacks, called the relatively long deliberations hopeful and a sign that the jury is keeping an open mind about the case.
Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Humphreys said in his closing arguments Monday that the case hinges on which statement the jury believes of the two Brown made to police.
In his first statement, the 23-year-old Brown told police that he helped Turner, 21, abduct Evans from an Oceanfront bar. Brown said that he and Turner attempted to rape her in Turner's car along a residential street in Virginia Beach. As Brown held her legs and arms, Evans was choked twice into submission by Turner, Brown said. The two then took Evans' body to Newport News and dumped it in a wooded ditch.
In Brown's second statement, given about 90 minutes later, Brown told police he came upon Turner and Evans in the parking lot of The Bayou as the couple was in Turner's car.
When Brown got into the car at Turner's request, he noticed Evans was motionless in the back seat. Turner, Brown said, told him that ``I think I f------ killed her.''
The two men then drove to Newport News and dumped her body, Brown said.
Brown testified that he made up the first statement to protect Turner, his swim team buddy during the rigorous SEAL training program, whom he claimed to love like a brother.
If the jury believes the second statement, its members have the option of finding Brown guilty of accessory after the fact, a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of 12 months in jail. ILLUSTRATION: THE BROWN TRIAL
Graphic
The Virginian-Pilot
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
KEYWORDS: MURDER TRIAL U.S. NAVY SEAL MURDER by CNB