Anne Arundel judge declares mistrial in murder case year after conviction was thrown

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — Just under a year after a Baltimore man’s murder conviction was thrown out, an Anne Arundel County jury said it could not reach a unanimous verdict on any of the charges, and Circuit Judge Cathleen Vitale declared a mistrial in the case.

Vitale’s decision Tuesday to dismiss the jury in Marquis Mayo’s case and declare a mistrial followed four days of testimony and roughly three days of jury deliberation.

Mayo, 37, was found guilty in February 2025 of first-degree murder, kidnapping and a weapons charge in 47-year-old David “Duke” Winchester Jr.’s death, but the conviction was thrown out two months later after Vitale objected to how the prosecution handled evidence involving two witnesses.

During jury deliberations in the retrial this month, the jury sent two notes to Vitale saying that it had reached an impasse and could not come to a verdict. The second note, which came in Tuesday afternoon, said the jury was at the same standstill it had been at on Friday.

Read the full story on the Baltimore Sun.