- Posted July 31, 2014
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Mistrial for man in death of girlfriend's niece, age 5
DETROIT (AP) - A judge has declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked while deliberating the fate of a Detroit man accused of abducting, raping and killing his girlfriend's 5-year-old niece.
Twenty-two-year-old Darnell Cheatham is charged with first-degree murder, torture, arson and other crimes in the death of Mariah Smith. Her burned remains were found in a vacant house in 2011.
Defense lawyer Kareem Johnson says Cheatham maintains his innocence.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Ulysses Boykin declared the mistrial Tuesday.
County prosecutor's spokeswoman Maria Miller says in a statement that prosecutors will retry the case and says a pre-trial hearing is scheduled Friday.
Published: Thu, Jul 31, 2014
headlines Oakland County
- Probate perspectives
- Some online SBM services temporarily unavailable March 19-20
- Jewish elected officials address rising antisemitism following last week’s attack at Temple Israel
- Chief Justice Roberts says personal criticism of judges is dangerous and has 'got to stop'
- Nessel joins coalition challenging administration’s attack on states’ fair housing laws
headlines National
- Online shoppers find deals on the Temu app, but states say the trade-off is personal data
- Florida Bar reverses itself, says it is not investigating Lindsey Halligan
- Attorney indicted for trying to kill her husband of more than 25 years
- American Bar Association cites members’ needs in law firm intimidation hearing
- OpenAI sued for practicing law without a license
- Lindsey Halligan being investigated by the Florida Bar
