No verdict reached, jurors deadlocked in case of murdered Weymouth sergeant and bystander

DEDHAM, Mass. — Jurors resumed deliberations on Monday as they tried reaching a verdict in the trial for Emanuel Lopes, who is accused of killing Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna and bystander Vera Adams in July 2018.

However, two notes from the jurors delivered to the judge late in the afternoon session seemed to be a case of deja vu for prosecutors.

“We have continued deliberations and have exhausted a thorough review of evidence to support our varied viewpoints,” the note read, according to Judge Beverly Cannone. “We are still arriving at a hung jury decision.”

Prosecutors responded in part, questioning how thorough the jurors’ review was of the more than 100 exhibits presented in the trial. The state suggested deliberations “have not been due and thorough.”

The defense says they will move for a mistrial, given that this was the second time the jury has come out with a hung jury note.

Judge Cannone sent the jurors home for the day given the late hour. “This was/is a very complicated case,” she said.

Deliberations began Thursday in Lopes’ second murder trial, which began last month in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, six months after a mistrial was declared in his initial trial.

During the first trial, attorneys for the 26-year-old Lopes didn’t dispute their client fatally shot Chesna, 42, and Adams, 77, on July 15, 2018. But his attorneys did question whether Lopes should be held criminally responsible, claiming his history of mental illness caused him to act irrationally in their deaths.

‘We are frustrated’: Juror in case of man charged in murder of Weymouth officer discusses mistrial

In the first trial, jurors deliberated for five days and were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

He faces life in prison if he is convicted.

If he’s found not guilty by reason of insanity, he could be sent to a mental health facility.

There will be no deliberations on Tuesday due to the storm. Jurors will return to court on Wednesday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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