Judge grants motion for mistrial in Hagan murder case
WARRICK CO., IN (WFIE) - The judge has declared a mistrial in the murder trial of Isaiah Hagan.
Hagan is accused of killing Halee Rathgeber. The 20-year-old's body was found in April 2017 at the Alcoa soccer fields in Newburgh.
Friday was set to be day 4 of Hagan's trial, but testimony did not start as planned. The Rathgeber family was pulled out of the courtroom and then came back about 20 minutes later.
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When the trial started up after the delay, jurors were brought in for questioning about comments made by members of the jury.
One of the jurors had mentioned seeing Hagan outside the courtroom in the holding cell. The juror commented that it was odd to see the defendant because he thought the jury would have been escorted a different way so they didn't see Hagan.
A courthouse security official was questioned and said one of the jurors mentioned they saw Hagan and said, "it was creepy."
The judge then granted the defense's motion for a mistrial saying the "impact on all parties is significant" and "it's a shame we have come to this point."
The defense also motioned for Hagan's released, but the prosecutor argued that the release of Hagan "in any fashion" was not appropriate. The judge denied the motion.
The court will meet again on May 15 to pick another trial date and a progress hearing is set for May 30.
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