Jurors deliberated the case against Robert Eugene Hawes for most of Friday but needed more time. They came back Tuesday from the Memorial Day weekend and reached a verdict in a couple of hours. That morning, though, Hawes, 57, killed himself and never learned that the jury had found him not guilty of all three counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child. Confused jurors were thanked and dismissed before they could tell the court that they had acquitted him, his lawyer, Monica R.
Some of Hawes’ relatives were in court Tuesday morning, but he was not. As the jury deliberated, Khirallah said, she received a call from Hawes’ wife, who told her she had heard a gunshot coming from the garage of their home. Khirallah called 911 and EMS responded around 9:30 a.m. Mery declared a mistrial. Khirallah said the jury forewoman contacted her later, wanting to know what happened and telling her the panel was about to alert the court that it had reached a verdict.