Mistrial declared in Christopher Schurr trial: What happens next?

(FOX 2) - After several days of deliberation, jurors remained deadlocked in the case of Christopher Schurr, the ex-Grand Rapids police officer who was charged with murdering Patrick Lyoya. 

The judge declared a mistrial, ending the prosecutor's attempt to convict Schurr in Lyoya's killing. 

What we know:

After five days of testimony and arguments along with nearly three days of deliberations between jurors, there is no verdict in Schurr's murder trial.

Jurors returned to the courtroom deadlocked Thursday morning, leading Judge Christina Mims' to declare a mistrial before dismissing them. 

The decision leaves the prosecution's case against Schurr in limbo with no immediate next steps. Mims did not outline any future court dates for the case.

Related

article

Christopher Schurr Trial: Judge declares mistrial in murder trial of Grand Rapids police officer

A judge has declared a mistrial after the jury remained deadlocked in the murder trial of an ex-Grand Rapids police officer.

What's next:

A mistrial is declared when the 12 jurors selected to listen to the case can not make a unanimous decision about whether the defendant charged is guilty or innocent.

Even if one person disagrees with the other 11, there is no verdict. While a judge can order the jurors to continue deliberating, they can also declare a mistrial if they don't think any more progress will be made.

However, the case does not go away. Instead, the prosecutor can decide to retry the case, offer a plea deal, or drop the case. 

Patrick Lyoya's family speaks out

The family of Patrick Lyoya expressed gratitude for Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker's work trying the case, but implored him to try the case again.

"It seems like every day, we are reborn of the wound and the image of my son (being) killed," said Peter Lyoya, Patrick's father. "To see that all these three years where we have been waiting for this case to be settled, but Patrick was killed."

Speaking through a translator alongside Ven Johnson, their attorney representing them in a civil case against the police department, Peter said Thursday they thought they were getting close to the end of the case.

"It hurt my family, my wife, we are bleeding. We are in pain," he said. "We will continue to fight until when we get the true justice for Patrick."

Civil attorney Johnson called the result a "mixed bag."

Family of Patrick Lyoya speak out following the mistrial decision in the murder case of Christopher Schurr.

"The burden in a criminal case is beyond a reasonable doubt. It is a huge high burden and what you find out is, either way, you couldn't get 12 people to agree," he said. 

Becker spoke to the family on Wednesday night that he was undecided whether he would retry the case if the jurors remained deadlocked. However, he would tell them of his decision before making it official.