Jury fails to reach verdict in farmhouse assault
Published 3:27 pm Friday, October 29, 2010
FAIRMONT, Minn. — A jury in southern Minnesota has been unable to reach a verdict in a case against a chiropractor accused of breaking into a farmhouse and attacking an elderly couple.
Jurors in Martin County deliberated about four hours Thursday night, but then said they could not reach an unanimous verdict, resulting in a mistrial.
The jury had to decide whether Douglas Eugene Bennett was mentally ill or under the influence of drugs when he beat the couple at their rural Truman farmhouse. Elmer and Marcella Sauck, in their 80s, suffered broken bones and other injuries.
The Fairmont Sentinel reports a hearing in a few weeks could determine how the case will proceed and if Bennett will be retried.