Murder trial jury tells judge it's deadlocked after 7 hours

Murder Trial of Patrick Smith
Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor John Wojtal makes his closing argument yesterday in the murder trial of Patrick Smith, 48, who is being charged with killing Robert Murphy, 68, in Murphy's Bergen Avenue home on May 21, 2010. Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal Murder Trial of Patrick Smith on Sept. 13, 2012 gallery (13 photos)

A jury deliberating the fate of a former Jersey City man accused of murder told a judge this afternoon that it is deadlocked on the most serious charges, less than seven hours after they began.

The jury in the of Patrick Smith, 48, of Old Bridge, who is charged with stabbing 68-year-old Robert E. Murphy to death in Jersey City during a robbery on May 21, 2010, received its instructions yesterday afternoon and began deliberating at 8:30 a.m. today.

Shortly after 3 p.m. the jury notified Hudson County Superior Court Judge Fred Theemling that they were deadlocked on the counts of murder, felony murder, armed robbery, robbery and a count of robbery of a second person. Theemling instructed them to continue deliberating.

Earlier today, the jury was recharged on the law regarding drug possession and possession with intent to distribute.

Before notifying the judge that they could not come to a decision, the jury had asked for the playback of a security video showing Smith going in and out of the building multiple times during the hours before Murphy's body was found by his son.

The jury also asked for playback of testimony from the prosecution's key witness, a woman who said she had been with Smith and that they had delivered drugs to Murphy's apartment hours before his death. Defense lawyers had attempted to poke holes in her credibility, saying she had pleaded guilty to reduced drug charges in return for her testimony.

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