Hawkins’ first mistrial occurred when a jury said they were hopelessly deadlocked and could not reach a unanimous decision. The second trial ended prematurely in MarchAfter the verdict, Washington’s aunt hugged Hawkins’ mother outside the courtroom. Washington’s aunt, Jacqueline Jennings told the Hawkins’ mom, Nickeva Hawkins, that regardless of the verdict, justice wouldn’t be served for Washington.
Kelley said it was difficult to bring out the missing evidence at trial because she was not allowed to speak about prior trials, which would have prejudiced the jury. She could only mention “late disclosure,” she said. If found guilty of capital murder, Hawkins would have automatically been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Kelley said she was happy for Hawkins’ family to receive a not guilty verdict, but also sad for Washington’s family who did not receive the closure of having a killer identified and brought to justice.Prosecutors argued the evidence pointed to Hawkins as the killer and told the jury he lied to police about what he did when he visited Washington.
Hawkins, a father of two, is seen insisting to detectives in a police video shown to jurors that he didn’t kill Washington, who he called a friend. Detectives testified his police interviews raised “red flags,” and along with other evidence, he was considered the suspect.
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