The jury is having trouble in the homicide trial against 22-year-old Julian Collazo of Janesville.
Judge Barbara McCrory sent the jurors home Wednesday night after just under three hours of deliberation.
“It’s my understanding that you’ve had a night… or had it for tonight, maybe is a batter way to put it, that tensions are getting a little bit high,” McCrory told the jury.
Collazo is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, but he testified Wednesday afternoon he witnessed his jealous girlfriend Nicole Kazar commit the murder of 43-year-old Christine Scaccia-Lubeck.
The jurors then received their jury instructions from Judge McCrory before the state and defense attorneys delivered their closing statements.
Assistant District Attorney Scott Dirks went through the timeline of the day of the homicide and argued Collazo’s version of the story was not credible.
Collazo’s attorney Jeff Jensen made the case that Kazar had the motive to commit the murder while Collazo did not.
The state has evidence of the victim’s blood on the pants and shoes of Collazo, with no physical evidence that Kazar was involved in the crime. Collazo said he was trying to stop Kazar from stabbing Scaccia-Lubeck.
The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations at 10:30 Thursday morning and expected to deliver a verdict by the end of the day.
