Paige Birgfeld disappeared in and her body was found five years later. Lester Jones, 65, was arrested in and charged with first and second degree murder , arson and kidnapping for the death of Paige Birgfeld, who went missing in Unable to unanimously reach a verdict by Friday afternoon after three and a half days of deliberations, the judge declared a mistrial.
Jones showed no emotion as the decision was announced. Five of the 12 jurors spoke to ABC News after the trial and said in the end, nine were in favor of "guilty" and three were in favor of "not guilty. The jurors said at times deliberations became "very passionate. Juror William Sullivan, who was in favor of a guilty verdict, said, "I hope they try it again hopefully there will be a better outcome.
Prosecutors asked for a week to determine a date for a new trial. Paige Birgfeld, a year-old twice divorcee, had been working odd jobs to make ends meet, from selling Pampered Chef products to teaching dance classes for toddlers, while raising her three kids when she disappeared on June 28, The fire was ruled arson, but her body was nowhere to be found.
Both were cleared of suspicion after cell phone records proved they had been hundreds of miles away from Birgfled when she went missing. Beigler testified in court that he had begged her to give up her escort service the day she disappeared.
One of those clients was Lester Jones, a convicted felon and local RV mechanic who was married at the time, so police brought him in for questioning. Police interrogated Jones twice, for almost eight hours in total, without an attorney. In the trash, they discovered packaging for a disposable phone, which Jones claimed didn't belong to him.
