Jury in Rachel Hoffman slaying to try again for verdict Thursday

Jurors called it a night today without reaching a verdict in the capital murder trial of Deneilo Bradshaw, 24, accused of participating in the shooting and robbery of Tallahassee police confidential informant Rachel Hoffman, 23.

Jurors have so far spent 21 hours _ nine and a half on Tuesday, 11 and a half today _ sorting through testimony and evidence. Jurors, many dressed in casual clothes, appeared fatigued. Two rubbed their foreheads as the judge asked whether anyone needed any extra items for another night at a hotel.

Judge Mark Walker, in his initial statements to the jury, told them only to "bring a bag" for the time they would be sequestered in a hotel.

"I didn't anticipate in my remarks that it would take more than one day" to reach a verdict, he said.

The jury posed two questions for the judge, and he attempted to answer them this morning before deliberations resumed.

Both suggested an acute attention to detail on the part of the six women and six men deciding the case.

The first was fairly easy to dispatch, as it involved defining armed robbery with a firearm vs. robbery with a firearm.

Walker then read the jurors' second question: "Is it possible to be found guilty of robbery and not be a principal for purposes of finding for first-degree felony murder?"

The second sparked debate among prosecutors and defense attorneys, including whether the jury was trying to find a way to find Bradshaw guilty of at least robbery but spare him the possibility of the death sentence.

After conferring with both sides and attempting to answer in a neutral manner, Walker called the jurors into the courtroom, and told them, "I do not understand the question as phrased. If you require further instruction, let me know."

The only answer from the jurors was a note after they returned to the jury room asking the judge to put both of his answers in writing.

Before beginning deliberations, jurors were given a thick packet of complicated instructions outlining a variety of outcomes in the case. The death penalty remains a possibility. After the verdict, the jurors will meet to discuss sentencing, if one is necessary.

Hoffman was shot May 7, 2008, after police set up a sting to nab Bradshaw and his step brother-in-law Andrea Green. She was to use marked bills to buy 1,500 Ecstasy pills, cocaine and a handgun. Testimony in the trial, which began Monday, revealed she was shot with that gun and her body later tossed from a Taylor County road.

Hoffman grew up in Pinellas County. Her father, Irv Hoffman of Palm Harbor, said he would leave Thursday to be home to visit his daughter's grave on her birthday. Her mother, Margie Weiss, and her stepfather, Mike Weiss, will return to the courthouse tomorrow.