Second day of deliberations in Rimer trial ends with no verdict
A jury was sent home Monday evening after deliberating for a second day without reaching a verdict in the trial of two parents charged with murder after their 4-year-old disabled son was left in an SUV for at least 17 hours in June 2008.
Stanley and Colleen Rimer are charged with second-degree murder in the death of Jason Rimer. They also face charges of child abuse and neglect; they are accused of physically abusing five of their eight children and letting them live in squalor. If convicted, the defendants could face sentences of 10 years to life.
Deliberations began Friday but started all over Monday after a juror was excused for medical reasons. They continue today.
The excused male juror complained of feeling ill before deliberations began Monday morning and told a court official that he might be having a heart attack. After being checked out by a court marshal, paramedics were called. His condition was unknown. An alternate juror was called as a replacement, forcing the jury to start over the deliberations.
The jury also asked Judge Douglas Herndon for guidance regarding choosing between a verdict of second-degree murder or a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, but the judge only referred the jurors to the instructions given them at the close of the trial. Involuntary manslaughter is a probationable offense.
Jason Rimer was left in the vehicle about 2 p.m. June 8, 2008, after returning home from church with his mother and several siblings. The temperature inside the vehicle is estimated to have reached 130 degrees on that 90-degree day.
Jason suffered from myotonic dystrophy, a genetic muscular disorder that crippled his body and mind. He was unable to unlock car doors. He died from heat stress, which could have taken three to five hours.
Stanley Rimer has maintained he was unaware that Jason had been locked in the vehicle. He says he was ill that day and left church before his family, spending the rest of the day in his bedroom.
Colleen Rimer has told Las Vegas police that she was the only person responsible for the disabled boy.
Prosecutors have argued that the parents exhibited a pattern of neglect that was bound to lead to tragedy.
