In new twist to Pablo Ibar case, one juror goes back on guilty verdict

In a new twist to the story of Pablo Ibar, who is on death row in the United States for a triple murder committed in 1994, a member of the jury that found him guilty at his retrial last week has apparently reconsidered his decision.

Ibar, who is of Spanish descent on his father’s side, has been behind bars for 24 years, 16 of them on death row, for the brutal killing of a bar owner and two dancers inside the former’s house in Broward County, Florida. The case became known as the “Casey’s Nickelodeon murders,” in reference to the name of the male victim’s place of business.

Judge Bailey will meet with prosecutors and Ibar’s lawyers to decide on the next move

Ibar’s case history involves one mistrial, a trial that sent Ibar to death row despite a lack of physical evidence against him, and a victorious battle to secure a retrial.

The story has been widely followed in Spain, where a Pablo Ibar Association Against the Death Penalty was set up to raise funds for his defense. Ibar was born in South Florida and took Spanish citizenship after being convicted in 2000, according to The Miami Herald. His mother is Cuban and his father is a Basque jai-alai player who emigrated to the US in the 1960s.

The Pablo Ibar Association announced on Wednesday that one juror has approached Judge Denis Bailey to inform him that he no longer supports the unanimous guilty verdict reached last Saturday. According to a statement on the association’s website, Ibar’s defense lawyers have learned that an unidentified juror contacted the Fort Lauderdale court at 8.35am on Tuesday.

As a result, Ibar’s defense has moved to learn the identity of this individual, and asked to speak with an alternate juror who reportedly overheard a conversation regarding Ibar’s earlier conviction in 2000, said the association.

A hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 9am (local time in Florida), when Judge Bailey will meet with prosecutors and Ibar’s lawyers to decide on the next move. The defense wants new jury deliberations in light of the latest developments.

There are precedents for this sort of situation in the US legal system, and it will be up to the judge to decide whether the new circumstances call for fresh jury deliberations. But experience shows that most of these cases have not resulted in different outcomes, and Judge Bailey could decide to respect the verdict and hand down a sentence in late February as planned.

English version by Susana Urra.