SAN DIEGO -- A mistrial was declared Monday in the penalty phase of the trial of child killer Scott Erskine, (pictured, left), after jurors told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked 11-1 in favor of sending the defendant to death row.

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Erskine, 40, was convicted Oct. 1 of two counts of first-degree murder and special circumstance allegations of torture and molestation in the March 27, 1993, deaths of 13-year-old Charlie Keever and 9-year-old Jonathan Sellers.

Deliberations in the penalty phase began last Tuesday. The jury was asked to recommend the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"There's someone who had blinders on in the jury room and in the courtroom," a juror who identified himself as Gabriel said outside the courthouse.

Another juror, who identified herself only as Mary, said the holdout female juror felt society let Erskine down by not getting him the help that he needed.

Defense attorneys argued that Erskine suffered brain damage when he was hit by a car at the age of 5.

"She just really felt that the system failed him through the years," the juror said of the holdout panelist. "She could not relate to the mothers (of the victims) at all because she doesn't have children."

Last Thursday, the holdout juror told fellow panelists that she sought advice from the jury manager about what would happen in the event of a deadlock or if a juror was unable to continue service.

The judge called the actions "misconduct," but not enough to kick her off the panel.

Milena Sellers, the younger victim's mother, put her head in her hands and cried as Judge Kenneth So declared the mistrial.

Maria Keever, mother of the older boy, sat stoically as the decision was announced.

The boys' bodies were found in South San Diego two days after they disappeared on a bicycle ride.

Prosecutors will now have to decide whether to retry the penalty phase. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday in So's courtroom.