Keona Holley Trial: Jurors sent home with no verdict in murder trial of Baltimore police officer

BALTIMORE -- The jury will be headed to a third day of deliberations in the trial of a man charged in the 2021 murder of Baltimore Police Officer Keona Holley.

The judge sent jurors home on Tuesday with no verdict. They will resume deliberating Wednesday morning

Elliott Knox is charged with first-degree murder, murder conspiracy and several gun-related charges stemming from the shooting deaths of Holley and Justin Johnson.

His defense attorney all but conceded the gun charges in this case, but argues Knox's role amounts to an "accessory after the fact" and not the trigger-puller.

There was an anxious silence outside courtroom 203 in Baltimore City Circuit Court as family members continued to wait for a verdict.

Jurors have been deliberating since around 2:15 p.m. on Monday.

Closing arguments concluded Monday during the second week of the trial.

The big question in the courtroom remains unanswered as there appears to be no known connection between Holley and her accused killers.

Courtroom 203 was packed with family members and members of the Baltimore City Police Department.

The Baltimore City prosecutor repeatedly used the term "executions" when referring to the killings of Holley and Johnson, which happened just 90 minutes apart.

They were both found shot to death in their cars in the early morning of December 16, 2021.

Co-defendant Travon Shaw has already been convicted in Johnson's murder. 

The jury on Monday first heard from the final state witnesses in the case against Knox.

An FBI cellphone analyst walked through the locations and movements of three phones used by Knox and co-defendant Travon Shaw, placing them in the areas of Holley and Johnson's murder scenes.

Assistant State's Attorney Kurt Bjorklund told jurors, "This was a hit. This was targeted. Somehow, they knew where she was. (Knox) picked up Shaw and they drove straight there and they executed her in her car while she worked."

Bjorklund replayed videos from the crime scene and ran through a list of inconsistencies in Knox's interviews with detectives while he was detained.

Knox elected not to testify in his own defense. His attorney Natalie Finegar did not call any witnesses.

Finegar argued that Knox's statements to police amounted to being "an accessory after the fact" and not the trigger-puller, saying," He's not a hit man. He's a person who got caught up in a bad situation and made some bad decisions."

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