Deliberations to start over in murder case
Superior Court Judge Diane Woolard informed the jurors yesterday of her decision to send the woman home. She appointed a new juror and said the panel would have to vote again on a presiding juror and start over.
"You need to disregard all of your prior deliberations," Woolard told the weary-looking jurors.
Defense attorney Therese Lavallee argued against the decision to reconstitute the jury after four days of deliberations.
Johnson, 24, faces first-degree felony murder charges in the death of her mother-in-law. The body of Marlyne Johnson, 58, was found in her Brush Prairie home on Jan. 10, 2002. She was fatally beaten with a pair of fireplace tongs.
Prosecutors say Sophia Johnson, who is serving a three-year prison term for embezzling $70,000 from a former employer, killed her mother-in-law in a robbery attempt to find a secret stash of cash.
Lavallee argued that Sophia Johnson's younger brother, Sean Correia, was the killer.
Correia, 20, has served a yearlong sentence for rendering criminal assistance, residential burglary and theft. He testified against his sister during the two-week trial.
If convicted, Sophia Johnson faces between 20 and 26 years in prison.