12:18pm Thursday 28th January 2010
By Dan Keel
THE jury in the Edward Highwood murder trial has failed to reach a verdict.
Judge John Milford formally discharged jurors from the Old Bailey at 12.05pm today after receiving a note confirming they could not reach a verdict on which 10 were agreed.
The note read: “The jury cannot reach a 10-2 verdict. The jury believes that no matter how long it goes on deliberating it will not achieve this.”
The jury retired to consider its verdict on Tuesday after the 15-day trial.
Yesterday jurors told the court they could not reach a unanimous verdict, prompting the judge to allow them to give a majority verdict of 10-2.
But after a further four hours of deliberations jurors were still at deadlock, meaning a retrial will take place on May 24.
Homeless Polish man Marcin Orlowski, aged 20, denies murdering 79-year-old Mr Highwood on July 17 last year.
Mr Highwood was bludgeoned to death with a glass vase at his home in Hollymount Close, Blackheath.
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