MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WCCO) — Following an unexpected delay, jurors resumed deliberations Wednesday morning in the vehicular homicide trial of Amy Senser, the wife of a former Minnesota Viking.
Jurors were due back at the Hennepin County courthouse at 9 a.m., but arrived more than a half hour late.
A clerk said there had been an issue with the shuttle bus bringing them over from the hotel they were sequestered overnight, but some speculation spread at the courthouse that the bus driver had gotten lost along the way.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, Amy Senser had not been seen at the courthouse. A clerk was seen bringing a large stack of papers to the jury for them to examine.
The jury must now answer the crucial questions of whether Senser knew she had struck and killed a stalled motorist on a freeway exit ramp last August — and when she knew it.
Prosecutor Deborah Russell told the jurors in closing arguments Tuesday that the evidence proves Senser had to have known she hit Anousone Phanthavong, was probably drunk, concealed evidence and failed to notify authorities about the fatal accident.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson accuses prosecutors of rushing to judgment because Senser and her husband, Joe, are well known in the community.
Senser is charged with three felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide and careless driving. Each would carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence upon conviction.
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