Franklin County jury hung on whether Akron woman murdered boyfriend or shot in self-defense

A Franklin County jury could not decide whether to convict on murder charges an Akron woman who said she shot her boyfriend in self-defense in Columbus.

Samantha Stevens, 22, fatally shot 23-year-old Eric Washington Jr. on Nov. 22, 2021, outside his friend's apartment complex on the city's West Side.

After deliberating for about seven hours on Thursday and seven hours on Friday, the jury announced Friday it couldon the two murder charges. The jury found Stevens not guilty of tampering with evidence. Stevens' attorney, Adam VanHo, said during opening arguments on Tuesday that Washington had abused Stevens, had assaulted her that night and threatened to kill her.

While trying to defend herself from him, VanHo said Stevens was not aiming for Washington when she fired the handgun, but was trying to scare him.In her jail mugshot taken after she turned herself in to authorities on Nov. 24, 2021, Stevens had a bruise above her mouth. VanHo said Stevens had other bruises on her body as well.

said during opening arguments that Stevens' story was not consistent and this was not self-defense. Wenger said that it's unfortunate that Stevens was struck in the face, but she chose to escalate the situation with the use of a firearm.It was at least the second case of the week

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