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Murder case ends in hung jury again
Published 4/29/2008 in News : Area coverage
By RACHEL DAVIS
and STEPHANIE FARLEY
Staff writers
JOHNSON CITY -- For the second time, the murder trial of husband and wife Chad and Shannon Floyd in Stanton County has ended in a hung jury.
After four days of deliberations, jurors this morning informed Chief Judge Jack Lively that they could not reach a decision on a verdict. The split was 7 to 5. The jurors did not say which votes were for guilty or not guilty.
The Floyds are accused of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder of Stanton County resident Michael Golub. He disappeared May 20, 2005, and his body has never been found.
Richard Guinn, lead prosecutor assigned to the case through the Kansas Attorney General's Office, said he plans to retry the case for a third time.
Bonnie Parks, Stanton County district court clerk, said the first trial, which was held in July 2007, cost the county $18,000. She said for that trial, 450 jurors were called compared to 338 the second time around.
Parks said all potential jurors know some of the details of the case and she does not believe an impartial jury will be found here for a third trial.
According to state law, when a county has exhausted all its potential jurors the state may choose to go forward with the case or dismiss the charges.
She said if the defense refuses to change the venue of the trial, then potential jurors from another county may be brought in at Stanton County's expense. She said she does not know how much that would cost.
Lively placed a gag order on the jury and told them they could speak with members of counsel but with no one else about the case.
A phone conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. May 6 to discuss whether the Floyds will be tried for a third time or if the charges will be dismissed. Another issue to be addressed includes a motion to bar cameras from the courtroom.
Jurors began deliberations late Thursday afternoon, and they continued throughout the day Friday and Monday.
Jurors asked Judge Lively late Monday afternoon if they could adjourn until 9 this morning, and he granted permission.
Lively's approval ended a day that saw about 2 1/2 hours of reading through testimony dealing with DNA evidence in the case, and then jury deliberations in the afternoon.
Monday morning was a continuation of where the jury left off on Friday, having requested to again hear the testimony of Brent Peterson, a friend of Chad Floyd's, and Lisa Burdett, with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The jury heard Peterson's testimony read back to them Friday.
After that, when the jury returned, the rest of the room continued the waiting game. Sitting, whispering, sipping cups of coffee and water, stretching and reading took up the afternoon in between jury knocks. At times, Chad Floyd sat with his family.
And Johnson City resident Violet Troup said she hoped an answer would come that day. Troup is friends with the Golub family and sat with them on Monday as they waited.
Michael Golub used to help keep Troup's bike running, and he also helped with work on her car and did things around the house that she needed. Troup describes him as gracious, kind, considerate, hardworking and conscientious -- a true friend and someone who respected people.
"He was just a good friend of our family," she said.
With help from friends, Troup opened her home for lunch for the Golubs and others needing fed during the last two trials. And she's sure the case and both trials have had a major effect on the community, especially with those in a smaller town knowing each other in a unique, close way.
Troup said it's just been rough on the town.
What she hopes, along with the Golub family, is for an answer and conclusion to the case. It's been roughly three years of waiting for the family, she said, and "they're ready for it to be over."
As the wait continues, Troup said she knows there's hurt on both sides, adding, "I can't imagine the trauma a parent would go through."
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