(November 6, 2017)
UPDATE: Kaitlyn Conley has been found guilty of first-degree manslaughter, and not guilty of the initial second-degree murder charge.
The jury returned to the courtroom around 4 p.m. and announced they had reached a verdict.
Conley's bail has been revoked and she will be sent to the Oneida County Jail while she awaits sentencing, which has been scheduled for Jan. 11, 2018.
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UPDATE: When the jurors on the Kaitlyn Conley murder retrial returned from lunch today, they sent a note to Judge Michael Dwyer stating "hung jury."
Dwyer read the jury an Allen charge, which are instructions that are read to a jury when they've announced they're deadlocked and can't come to a decision. The Allen charge asks that the jury continues deliberating, and reminds them of their duty to come to a decision.
Dwyer pointed out to the jury that they had really only deliberated for several hours, and he told them not to adhere to a conclusion they no longer believe is correct just because of pride or stubbornness.
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UTICA – The second full day of jury deliberations in the Kaitlyn Conley murder retrial is underway in Oneida County Court.
Twenty-four-year-old Conley of Sauquoit is accused of poisoning her chiropractor boss, Dr. Mary Yoder, to death in July 2015 using the common gout medicine Colchicine. Conley is charged with second-degree murder, and the prosecution has also added on the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter for the jury to consider if they find her not guilty on the murder charge.
Conley’s first trial ended with a hung jury in May after the jury announced they were deadlocked and couldn’t come to a unanimous decision after five full days of deliberating.
On Friday, the first full day of jury deliberations, the jury asked to hear back several parts of witness testimony, including: testimony from Mary Yoder's husband, William Yoder; Mary Yoder's son and Conley's ex-boyfriend, Adam Yoder; Dr. Marraffa's testimony about the lethal doses of Colchicine and the time-frame for symptoms to set in; and a two-hour DVD interview between Conley and members of the Oneida County Sheriff's Office.
NEWSChannel 2 reporter Joleen Ferris has been tweeting live updates from the courtroom during each day of the more than three-week trial, and she will continue to provide updates until a verdict is announced. You can follow along here:
