Jury still divided in murder trial of Antonio Lopez

After eight hours of deliberation, the jury in the capital murder trial of Antonio Lopez did not reach a verdict Wednesday. Lopez is accused of killing 11-month-old Jayla Beckley, a foster child in his care back in 2012.

The jury heard closing arguments Tuesday and deliberated for about five hours before they ended the day without reaching a verdict.

After a lunch break Wednesday, the jury came back with a question for the judge. They wanted to know about a specific statement from the medical examiner regarding a police presence during the autopsy.

The court read back transcripts from last week where the medical examiner did say he thought it was unusual that the police were not present at the autopsy, considering this was a suspected homicide.

At the end of the day, the jury told the judge they were divided in making a decision. The jury was sequestered for the night.

Although Lopez is being tried for capital murder, jurors could instead find him guilty of lesser charges which don’t carry a mandatory life sentence.

Deliberations continue Thursday morning at 8 a.m.