Mistrial declared in slaying at porn motel

A mistrial because of juror misconduct has ended the first trial over the alleged murder-for-hire slaying at a Las Vegas porn motel of a woman with ties to the wealthy du Pont family.

Joseph Balignasa will return to court Thursday for a new trial date on murder charges in the strangulation death of 45-year-old Patricia Margello, the drug-using girlfriend of a junior heir to the du Pont chemical fortune.

The jury was in its third day of deliberations Monday when court officials learned that information gathered over the weekend had been brought into the jury room against the directions of District Judge John McGroarty.

Jurors can consider only evidence and information presented at a trial.

On Monday a juror brought in a dictionary to determine the definition of "culpable" and a telephone book apparently to track down the location of motels that were a part of the case.

Another juror admitted to pricing a Calvin Klein belt on a weekend shopping trip. Balignasa admitted to police that he surrendered his Calvin Klein belt to a friend to strangle Margello.

Balignasa had told police that he gave Ricardo Murillo, 37, the belt out of fear. But Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot argued that the defendant's willingness to give up the expensive belt showed he was part of the murder-for-hire plot.

The multiple incidents of misconduct resulted in McGroarty deciding a mistrial was appropriate.

After the hearing, jurors indicated they were leaning toward convicting Balignasa of second-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon -- the belt. He could have been sentenced to at least 20 years.

Koot had argued that Balignasa should be convicted of first-degree murder, which carries a life prison term with or without the possibility of parole.

Deputy Special Public Defender Laurel Duffy had told the jury during closing arguments Thursday that Balignasa should be convicted of no more than being an accessory after the fact for helping to hide Margello's body.

Prosecutors had offered to let Balignasa plead guilty to the accessory charge if he agreed to testify against three other defendants facing an October trial in federal court. It carries a maximum sentence of two to five years behind bars or probation.

District Attorney Stewart Bell said the same deal will be offered again.

In addition to Murillo, federal charges are pending against Diana Hironaga, 40, and Christopher Moseley, 57, over what prosecutors have said was supposed to be a murder to prevent social embarrassment to the du Pont family.

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