Jurors Deliberate In Trial Against Teen For Murder Of Arnesha Bowers

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Jurors are deliberating the murder and other charges against a Baltimore City teenager accused of one of Baltimore's most brutal murders. Jurors are telling the judge they are having problems reaching a decision.

The big development happened around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, as the jurors said they could not reach a unanimous decision on a number of counts, but the judge told jurors said to continue to deliberate and they did until they broke for the day, and they will be back at it on Thursday.

RELATED: Testimony Played Again in Teenager's Case of Arnesha Bowers' Murder

Jurors continue deliberating in the room on the first floor of the Mitchell Courthouse, and what has proven to be a difficult decision after three days, they finished listening to the testimony of star witness Adonay Dixon, just after noon on Wednesday.

Dixon testified that Raeshawn Rivers, who was 14 at the time, could have stopped the killing of 16-year-old Arnesha Bowers, but did nothing. Dixon said Rivers looked dumbfounded as he watched her getting beaten.

"Was this a total surprise when this burglary went bad, or did  he know what was going on? Were they really acting at his direction," said  Andy Levy, of law firm Brown, Goldstein and Levy.

The judge made the unusual decision to allow the jurors to listen to more than three hours of the Dixon's past testimony. They were attentive, sometimes taking notes, as Dixon calmly recounted that terrible night.

"I can only imagine what the last moments of Arnesha's life was like -- it had to have been pure hell," said a police official.

Bowers was raped, strangled, and set on fire at her grandmother's home in northeast Baltimore last year. Dixon, and another killer, John Childs are already serving prison sentences, while Raeshawn Rivers' fate hinges on this jury.

"The defense is saying, he's a kid, he was 14. You look at him,  he's small, he's young, he looks likehe couldn't hurt a fly, but prosecution is saying, don't be fooled," said Levy.

The defense attorney objected to a partial verdict in the case. The jury will be back deliberating at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, and we could have a verdict or some resolution Thurday.

Arnesha Bowers had sent off a number of college applications before her murder, and her grandmother says that getting the responses back in the mail after her granddaughter's death, is heartbreaking.

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