Franklin County jury hung on whether Akron woman murdered boyfriend or shot in self-defense
A Franklin County jury could not decide whether to convict on murder charges an Akron woman who said she shot her boyfriend in self-defense in Columbus.
Samantha Stevens, 22, fatally shot 23-year-old Eric Washington Jr. on Nov. 22, 2021, outside his friend's apartment complex on the city's West Side.
After deliberating for about seven hours on Thursday and seven hours on Friday, the jury announced Friday it could not reach a unanimous verdict on the two murder charges. The jury found Stevens not guilty of tampering with evidence.
Stevens' attorney, Adam VanHo, said during opening arguments on Tuesday that Washington had abused Stevens, had assaulted her that night and threatened to kill her.
While trying to defend herself from him, VanHo said Stevens was not aiming for Washington when she fired the handgun, but was trying to scare him.
After the shooting, Stevens drove back to Akron not realizing she had shot Washington, VanHo said.
In her jail mugshot taken after she turned herself in to authorities on Nov. 24, 2021, Stevens had a bruise above her mouth. VanHo said Stevens had other bruises on her body as well.
Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Beau Wenger said during opening arguments that Stevens' story was not consistent and this was not self-defense. Wenger said that it's unfortunate that Stevens was struck in the face, but she chose to escalate the situation with the use of a firearm.
Prosecutors could elect to try Stevens again for murder before a different jury.
It was at least the second case of the week that ended in a hung jury for Franklin County prosecutors.
On Thursday, the retrial of Isaiah Brown-Miller, 23, of the city's Northeast Side, on charges of kidnapping and aggravated robbery in connection with the death of a Columbus imam that began June 20 ended the same way the first trial did — with a hung jury.
Editor's note: this article has been edited to correct the decedent's name, Eric Washington Jr.
jlaird@dispatch.com
@LairdWrites
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County jury hung in Akron woman's trial for boyfriend's death
