LOS ANGELES : Mistrial Declared for 2nd Time in Fatal Mail Bombing

A mistrial was declared Tuesday after a federal jury declared itself hopelessly deadlocked in the trial of a real estate agent accused of plotting a 1980 mail bombing that killed a secretary.

The jurors deliberated for 4 1/2 days before announcing they were deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of acquitting William Ross. It was the second time a jury had hit an impasse on charges against Ross. A mistrial was declared after a 1988 trial.

Ross, 58, was accused of hiring an explosives expert to mail a bomb that killed Patricia Wilkerson on July 17, 1980. Prosecutors claimed the bomb was intended for Brenda Crouthamel-Adams, the wife of Wilkerson’s boss.

Wilkerson died instantly at ProWest Computers in Manhattan Beach after she opened the package and followed the instructions accompanying the disguised bomb telling her to plug it in, officials said. Prosecutors contended Ross tried to kill Crouthamel-Adams because she had sued the real estate agent over the sale of a Manhattan Beach home, costing him thousands of dollars.

Juror Chris Friedman said the prosecution failed to make “a connection between the defendant and the person who was convicted of committing the crime.”

Ross was accused of hiring Robert Manning, a Jewish Defense League activist and explosives expert, to build and send the bomb that killed Wilkerson. Ross was convicted in the case last year and is serving a life prison term.

Manning’s wife, Rochelle, who allegedly typed instructions about plugging in the device, was tried in 1988 along with Ross but a jury failed to reach a verdict. She died in Israel while fighting extradition for a second trial.