Jury Foreperson Says 3 Jurors Wouldn't Convict Murderer Soley Because He Is Black

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - The foreperson of the jury in the murder trial of Dayonte Resiles said three jurors were unwilling to convict Resiles based on his race.

The foreperson discussed on Friday the most recent twist in the trial that ended Wednesday with the hung jury.

“[The three jurors] said, ‘I don’t want to send a young Black male to jail for the rest of their life or have him get the death sentence,'” said the foreperson.

Resiles faces life in prison and possibly the death penalty for the murder of Jill Su, a 59-year-old Davie woman who was killed in her home back in September of 2014.

Police said Resiles broke into the home to commit a burglary, and when he found Su inside, he tied her up and stabbed her to death. His DNA was found on a knife and inside the home.

Two years after his arrest, Resiles escaped from a Broward County courtroom. He was found six days later.

Just before Thanksgiving, the suspect finally stood trial. After six days of deliberations, the jury came back with manslaughter, but when it came time for the foreperson to confirm the verdict to the judge, she couldn’t do it.

“The whole time I’m staring at the judge and at the clerk, and we’re locking eyes, and I’m looking at each one of them,” said the juror. “They’re just waiting for my verdict of either ‘yes, I agree’ or ‘no,’ and I just couldn’t, and that’s why I said no.”

She said most of the jury was ready to convict Resiles of at least second-degree murder, but the three refused because the defendant is Black.