Mistrial declared in 1976 slaying

MADISON, Wis. -- A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a Henderson man accused of killing his wife three decades ago after jurors said they couldn't reach a verdict.

Jeanette Zapata, a 37-year-old flight instructor, vanished from her Madison home on Oct. 11, 1976. No body or evidence of foul play ever has been found.

Still, prosecutors charged her husband, Eugene Zapata, in August 2006 with first-degree murder in a case built on circumstantial evidence.

The jury deliberated about 30 hours beginning Friday before telling a judge Monday that they had hit an impasse.

Prosecutors during the trial offered jurors several theories on why Zapata would have killed his wife.

They said Jeannette Zapata had filed for divorce six months before she vanished, and Zapata was afraid she would gain full custody of the couple's children and take their house for herself.

Prosecutors also contended Zapata couldn't bear to lose control of his wife's sex life. They portrayed Zapata as a sexual deviant who fantasized about his wife having sex with other men, even going so far as placing pictures of her in swingers magazines. After she kicked him out, he kept a diary noting who she was with, when her period began and ended and when he found birth control devices in their house.

Zapata retired to Henderson in 2001 after he finished a career with the state Department of Transportation. He made a return trip to Wisconsin in April 2005 during which prosecutors contended he hid his wife's remains after learning police had revived the case and were hot on his trail.

Zapata's lawyer, Stephen Hurley, said during his closing arguments that the case was based on suspicion, not proof.