SAN DIEGO -- The jury deliberating the fate of accused child killer Richard Tuite asked to see some exhibits used in the defendant's murder trial.

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Judge Orders Jury Back To Deliberations

Jurors said Wednesday they were deadlocked, but Judge Frederic Link ordered them to resume deliberations when one panelist said it might help.

The jury passed a note Thursday indicating there was a misunderstanding about the deadlock.

No decision is expected Thursday afternoon, and the jury is off Friday.

Tuite, a former transient diagnosed schizophrenic, is accused of stabbing Stephanie Crowe to death in January 1998.

He faces 27 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. Prosecutors did not file special circumstance allegations that could have resulted in the death penalty.

The eight-woman, four-man jury got the case last week after nearly three months of testimony. Thursday marked the fifth day of deliberations.

Tuite, 35, is accused of sneaking into the victim's home the night of Jan. 20, 1998, and stabbing her nine times through a thin comforter.

In his rebuttal closing argument, Special Assistant Attorney General David Druliner said Tuite had a knife and was on a "relentless and persistent" search for a friend named "Tracy" when he mistakenly killed the seventh-grader in her bed.

Defense attorney Brad Patton told the jury the prosecution theory that Tuite killed the girl because he was angry at Tracy is based more on speculation than evidence.

Michael Crowe, who originally was charged with two friends in his sister's murder, had a motive to kill her, said Patton, insisting the then-14-year-old hated his younger sister and his family.

Authorities have said traces of the victim's blood was found on clothing that Tuite wore the night of the slaying, but the defense has argued that the clothing could have been contaminated by a police tripod used at the crime scene.