TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A mistrial was declared in a Topeka murder case after a newspaper reporter sent a courtroom photo via Twitter that showed a juror.
The trial for 20-year-old Austin Tabor will be rescheduled. Tabor is charged with killing 20-year-old Matthew Mitchell in 2010 near a Topeka high school.
Shawnee County District Attorney Lee McGowan says the photo sent Wednesday with a cell phone by a Topeka Capital-Journal reporter showed one or more of the jurors. The judge had allowed camera phones in the courtroom but ordered that no pictures be taken of the jurors.
Topeka Capital-Journal publisher Gregg Ireland said the photo contained a profile of a juror in the background. He says the paper regrets the error and will use it as a training tool for employees.
