WOMAN ACCUSED OF USING HER FINGERNAILS
Woman to be retried in castration case
Associated Press
LILLINGTON, North Carolina --
Prosecutors say they plan to retry a woman on charges of castrating a man after a judge declared a mistrial in the case.
Judge Steve Balog declared the mistrial on Monday afternoon in the case of Rebecca Dawson.
Dawson was accused of using her fingernails to tear off a man's scrotum at a Christmas party last year. In closing arguments Friday, the defense said Dawson tore Kevin Russ' scrotum in self defense. The prosecutor described the injury as a vicious attack.
The jury foreman told Balog that jurors were split 8-4 on charges of malicious castration and assault with intent to inflict serious injury.
According to juror Harvey "Bart" Bartlett of Coats, four jurors favored not guilty and eight voted for guilty. He was among the four who believed Dawson was not guilty.
"It was a whole lot of arguing, a whole lot of yelling," Bartlett said of the deliberations. Jurors had told the judge Friday that they were deadlocked, and despite being urged to reconsider over the weekend, could not reach consensus.
"Everybody just kind of took it personal," Bartlett told the Fayetteville Observer.
According to testimony, Russ and Dawson got into a fight during which she ripped his scrotum with her artificial fingernails.