PORTLAND, Ore. – A jury has acquitted an Oregon man charged with murdering his wife after what was described as a suicide pact left her dead and him wounded.
The Portland couple had left a signed suicide note outlining their reasons for wanting to die on March 2, 2013.
Multnomah County jurors deliberated less than a day before returning their verdict Wednesday in the trial of Lloyd Erp. He and his wife, Lori, each suffered two bullet wounds to the head.
The Oregonian reports http://is.gd/XEwOu7 the 58-year-old man spent more than two years in jail awaiting disposition of his case.
A jury deadlocked in an earlier trial and a mistrial was declared.
Lloyd Erp testified that his wife shot herself before he took the rifle and tried to kill himself.
A defense lawyer told jurors the Erps were deeply in love, but suffered a variety of problems.
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
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