Jurors split on murder verdict in SLO fentanyl death. So judge sent them back to work
Jurors are split on whether a San Luis Obispo woman murdered a Templeton man when she sold him the fentanyl that later killed him in an overdose, they told the judge in a Monday court hearing.
So the judge sent them back to continue their deliberations.
In her testimony Wednesday, Brandi Turner, 50, admitted she sold fentanyl to 31-year-old Quinn Hall on Oct. 26, 2022. Hall’s body was discovered the following day by a San Luis Obispo County Animal Services employee behind the old Animal Services building on Kansas Avenue.
She is charged with murder, selling fentanyl, possession of fentanyl for sales and possession of methamphetamine.
Jurors said in a brief court hearing Monday they had decided unanimous verdicts on the three drug charges, but could not agree on whether Turner’s actions rose to the crime of murder.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera told jurors that it is too early to declare a mistrial and told them to resume deliberations.
He encouraged the jurors to keep an open mind as they digest all the information from the two-week trial and thanked them for their service.
For the murder charge, the questions jurors must answer are whether that sale caused Hall’s death and what Turner’s mindset was going into it.
LaBarbera told jurors they could also consider whether Turner is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but only if they found her not guilty of murder.
The jury began deliberations Friday around 2 p.m.
This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 5:22 PM.
