Judge Declares Mistrial In Murder Case

A judge declares a mistrial in an area murder case. KPEL's Nathan Pike has the story.

The bench trial of Daniel Joseph Harmon started Tuesday, but Judge Edward Rubin says Harmon's constiutional rights were violated.

Defense attornies say Harmon has a right to waive a trial by jury, but that was never formally done. Prosecutors say Harmon wanted a judge trial, but the defense says that's not right. They say even if that was the case, he still would have to formally declare that he didn't want to be tried by a jury.

Police believe Harmon is responsible for the 1989 killing of a Lafayette Parish teen. DNA evidence uncovered in 2006 tied Harmon to the crime.

The trial has been rescheduled for January 30th.

Nathan Pike, Newstalk 96.5 KPEL.