Massachusetts

Could Case of Massachusetts Teacher's Death End in a Mistrial?

Andrew MacCormack is accused of beating, strangling and stabbing Vanessa MacCormack at their Revere home on Sept. 23, 2017 while their 1-year-old daughter was in the room next door

The case of a Revere, Massachusetts, man accused of killing his wife could end in a mistrial if the jury is unable to reach a verdict this week.

A jury in Boston has been deliberating Andrew MacCormack's murder charge since closing arguments wrapped last week. He is accused of beating, strangling and stabbing Vanessa MacCormack at their Revere home on Sept. 23, 2017 while their 1-year-old daughter was in the room next door.

The couple had been fighting for months over Andrew MacCormack's drug use and spending habits, Suffolk County prosecutor Ian Polumbaum said, and that came to a head when he attacked her. 

After deliberating for three full days, the jury told the judge Tuesday they are still divided on a verdict and asked what to do.

The judge sent them home and is expected to instruct them to continue deliberating on Wednesday. If they are unable to reach a verdict, it could result in a mistrial.

Vanessa MacCormack was a beloved second-grade teacher at Connery Elementary School in Lynn.

Prosecutors have said that Andrew MacCormack tried to clean up the crime scene with bleach, then left the home with their daughter to create an alibi. They allege that his wife had discovered he'd been stealing money from her before her death to fund a cocaine habit.

"Throughout that 911 call, there is one simple word that the defendant never uttered, not even once: Vanessa. Never said her name," Polumbaum said during closing arguments as he played the emergency call MacCormack's team said he made after finding her body.

MacCormack's defense attorney acknowledged that his client isn't perfect, but that it didn't mean he killed his wife, telling the jury that no physical evidence tied him to the scene. The defense team has said that MacCormack was out with the couple's daughter at the time of the killing.

"Andrew did not in fact kill his wife," defense attorney John Hayes argued.

While Hayes said that the Andrew MacCormack had none of the marks that would have indicated he was involved in such a brutal assault, Polumbaum said that was because he hit her with a bed rail from behind while she was eating a granola bar, causing extensive damage to her face.

Vanessa MacCormack's injuries included a broken nose, bruising to her face and stab wounds around her back and neck, a medical examiner testified during the trial.

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