Judge declares mistrial in Las Vegas death penalty case

A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the death penalty trial for Will Sitton, who faces murder, burglary and robbery charges alongside his girlfriend, Jacquie Schafer, in the killing of Brian Haskell.

Prosecutors said Sitton viciously beat the 68-year-old man at his Las Vegas home, rendering him unconscious at least twice, after Schafer punched Haskell in the face.

Sitton's younger brother, Robert, admitted to beating Brian Haskell and became the prosecution's star witness in the two-week trial.

After gathering briefly late Friday afternoon to select a foreperson, the jury started deliberating Monday morning.

Lawyers quickly learned that the jurors had reviewed transcripts that were not admitted as evidence in the case. The documents contained statements by Schafer that implicated Will Sitton.

After interviewing five jurors about the evidence, District Judge Douglas Smith declared a mistrial and set a new court hearing for next month.

Prosecutors said that after the Oct. 29, 2009, beating, the couple stole Haskell's laptop and television, cashed several checks from his account, accessed his bank information and used his cellphone.

Schafer had been living with Haskell before he asked her to move out. She accused him of groping her in front of her daughter and physically attacked Haskell before the brothers beat him, prosecutors said.

Robert Sitton testified that Haskell was unconscious but still breathing when the trio left the northwest valley apartment.

Haskell's bedroom was the scene of the "bloodbath," prosecutor Jacqueline Bluth said. A medical examiner said he could have lived for three days longer. His body was found Nov. 14, 2009, with at least two different types of shoe prints on his back. Bones were broken in his nose, ribs and spine.

Police found Haskell's black Cadillac less than two miles from Schafer's mother's home.

Defense lawyers tried to pin the slaying on Robert Sitton, saying he acted alone in the beating, and tried to paint him as a liar.

Robert Sitton pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and could be eligible for parole in about five years. Smith, who is presiding over the trial, is slated to determine his sentence.

Will Sitton faces a possible death sentence, in part for his violent past. He has a history of sex-related convictions in Clark County. Schafer faces life in prison without parole if convicted.

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker.