Cameron Brown: Judge Declares Mistrial in 4-Year-Old Daughter Lauren Keys Murder Case

nbclosangeles.com

October 5, 2009

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Girl plunged to her death from a 120-foot cliff nearly nine years ago

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Jurors deadlocked Monday in the retrial of a man accused of murdering his 4-year-old daughter, who plunged to her death from a 120-foot cliff in Rancho Palos Verdes nearly nine years ago.

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The Los Angeles Superior Court jury was evenly split, with the jury's foreman telling Judge Michael Pastor that six voted in favor of convicting Cameron John Brown of second-degree murder and the other six for involuntary manslaughter. What is wrong with these people? He threw a little timid girl off a cliff. Involuntary manslaughter? Second-degree murder?

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Finding that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked, the judge declared a mistrial and ordered both sides to return to the downtown courthouse on Oct. 29...

[The jury foreman] said the primary issue was a "question of intent,"...

The announcement came just a few hours after the judge scolded jurors for considering a dictionary definition of the word "malice" from the Internet -- which was brought in by one of the jurors -- during their deliberations.

The judge told the panel that "there was misconduct in this case," but he ordered deliberations to resume... all of the panelists said they were hopelessly deadlocked...

The murder charge against Brown includes the special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain and murder while lying in wait, which could make him eligible for a life prison sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted.

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I'm so totally pissed.