BURLINGTON — A jury deliberated for about six hours Monday without reaching a verdict in the case of a Burlington man charged with killing his wife and seriously injuring her mother with a meat cleaver.
“It’s very important now not to talk to anyone about the case,” Judge John Pacht told the jurors as they broke for the day, at around 4:45 p.m., without reaching a verdict.
The 12-member jury heard closing arguments in the murder case against Aita Gurung on Friday. Jurors listened to about 45 minutes of Pacht’s instructions Monday morning before beginning deliberations around 10:10 a.m.
“You must apply the law that I give,” Pacht told the jurors in his instructions, later adding, “You are the sole judges of the evidence.”
A little more than an hour into the deliberations, the jury sent a note to the judge seeking the playback of several witnesses’ testimony, including bystanders who were outside Gurung’s home during the attack on Oct. 12, 2017.
Among the replayed testimony was that of a witness who reported hearing Gurung shout about betrayal during the attack. The playback was muffled through the court’s audio system, occasionally making it difficult to hear and to parse words.
The murder case has featured a great deal of expert testimony — not about whether Gurung committed the attack, but whether he was insane at the time and, therefore, not criminally responsible.
Gurung, 39, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 32-year-old wife, Yogeswari Khadka, at their home. Jurors also could consider a charge of second-degree murder in her slaying.
Jurors are also weighing a charge of attempted second-degree murder against Gurung for seriously injuring his mother-in-law, 54-year-old Thulsa Rimal, during the same attack.
The jury on Monday also sought playback of Rimal’s trial testimony, but broke for the day before it could be played. It will likely be played Tuesday morning, after the jury resumes deliberations at 8:30 a.m.
Pacht told jurors they could reach one of four verdicts on the first count against Gurung stemming from his wife’s death: They could return a not guilty verdict on a charge of first-degree murder; a guilty verdict on either a charge of first-degree murder or second-degree murder; or a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
On the charge of attempted second-degree murder, the jury could return one of three verdicts, Pacht said: guilty on the charge of attempted second-degree murder, not guilty of the charge, or not guilty by reason of insanity.
The prosecution during the trial contended that Gurung had a history of domestic violence and alcohol abuse, and that he was fueled in the attack by anger at his wife when she wouldn’t bring him a beer.
The defense has countered that Gurung was insane at the time of the slaying, having left the University of Vermont Medical Center hours earlier after a five-day stay for mental health treatment.
If Gurung is convicted of the most serious charge of first-degree murder, he faces up to 35 years to life behind bars.
Should the jury find Gurung not guilty by reason of insanity, he would be transferred to the custody of the state Department of Mental Health until he is no longer deemed a threat of harm to himself or others.
