ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — The jury in the trial of Jana Giron—the woman accused of killing two people in a 2019 car crash—was unable to reach a verdict Wednesday afternoon at Pima County Superior Court.
The jury did deliberate Wednesday, but families of crash victims Caitlin Festerling and Paul Garcia, will have to wait until at least Thursday for that verdict.
Giron is facing serious charges—including two counts of reckless manslaughter after allegedly rear-ending the vehicle of Festerling, 21, and Garcia, 22, in Oro Valley back in November of 2019.
During closing arguments the prosecution, as they have all trial, made one more push to convince the jury that Giron was distracted by her cell phone when the fatal crash occurred.
For the defense, their closing arguments focused on trying to convince the jury of any potential for reasonable doubt, while sticking to their defense that this was a tragic accident.
Much of this case has been focused on deleted text messages, including one Giron sent at 3:39 p.m. the day of the crash, and a reply she received at 3:40 p.m., before the first 911 call was made at 3:41 p.m.
A big twist in this trial came Tuesday when Giron testified in her own defense—a legal move rarely seen during a trial. It could be her testimony coupled with the deleted texts that sways the jury one way or another.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Jana Giron Trial: Prosecutors say texts may have been deleted after fatal 2019 Oro Valley crash
- In a rare legal move, defendant Jana Giron testifies during manslaughter trial
Giron is also facing two charges of criminal damage to property, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of endangerment with risk of death.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
