SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A jury that heard the murder case against a former Pasco police officer in the 1986 killing of Ruby Doss failed to reach a verdict.
Spokane County Superior Judge Maryann Moreno declared a mistrial Thursday afternoon, The Spokesman-Review reported.
Richard Aguirre, 57, did not testify during his seven-day trial.
He left the courthouse immediately following the proceedings and declined to speak with the media through his attorney John Browne.
Browne said Aguirre was disappointed not to be acquitted.
Prosecutors requested a new trial and it was scheduled for March.
Doss was found beaten and strangled near Playfair Race Course on Jan. 30, 1986. Doss was a sex worker, living with her daughter and boyfriend at the time.
In 2015, DNA evidence linked Aguirre to the Doss killing and he was charged with murder. Those charges were dropped while investigators waited for more DNA testing, court records said. Prosecutors refiled charges last year.
Multiple forensic scientists along with a DNA expert testified to the DNA evidence in the case and how the evolution of DNA science affected the case.
A condom found near the scene had semen in it that matched Aguirre, according to Lorraine Heath, a DNA testing expert who worked on the case.
Several witnesses testified that Aguirre made statements to them about having had sex with Doss but that she was alive when he left.
