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After Split Jury, Teen Accused In Bowers Murder To Be Retried In March

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- On Friday, a jury came back with a split decision on some of the charges faced by 15-year-old Raeshawn Rivers for his part in the June 2015 death of Arnesha Bowers.

WJZ has learned that Rivers, who was only 14 at the time of the girl's murder, will be re-tried on March 4.

The decision to ask for another trial came just days after jurors deadlocked on first degree felony murder, second degree murder, and a host of other charges against 15-year-old Rivers, who's being tried as an adult for the killing of 16-year-old Arnesha Bowers.

Rivers was found not guilty last week of some of the charges he faced, including premeditated murder and arson. But the jury was hung on some other charges, including second degree murder.

Bowers' grandfather supported the judge allowing a partial verdict.

"Jurors decide fates, so pretty much, we have to accept that," said Gene Bowers.

Rivers' co-defendants, Adonay Dixon, 24, and John Childs, 22, pleaded guilty last month and are serving life sentences.

Prosecutors alleged Rivers hatched a plot with Dixon and Childs to burglarize Bowers' home.

Things got out of control, and although Rivers did not kill Bowers with his own hands, the state argued he was just as responsible for her death.

"You can be responsible for a murder, even if you are not the one who actually commits the murder," said Andy Levy, a legal analyst who spoke with WJZ about the case.

Police believe the killing was part of a vicious gang initiation.

Investigators say Bowers was bound, sexually assaulted, strangled and set on fire.

She was beaten, raped and set on fire at her grandmother's home.

It's another setback in a high-profile case for the state's attorney's office, which failed to get murder convictions against teens charged in the death of bicyclist stabbed 11 times on his way home from work. And were dealt a mistrial for a man charged in a caught-on-tape incident--where a woman was run over in fells point---and another mistrial in the case against a chinese carryout owner charged with attempted murder for shooting a customer.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported Marilyn's Mosby's conviction rate is down by almost 20 percent compared to her predecessor. She disputes that analysis and maintains convictions under her leadership are above 90 percent.

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