INDIANAPOLIS — A judge declared a mistrial in the case of a man charged with killing pastor's wife Amanda Blackburn during a home-invasion robbery in 2015.
Marion Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins declared the mistrial Monday during jury selection in the trial of Larry Jo Taylor after some of the jurors told the judge they had information about the case and victim "that could have tainted their decision," a court staff member told WRTV Tuesday.
The nature of that information was not immediately clear. WRTV has asked prosecutors, defense attorneys and the court for additional information.
Court officials said Hawkins will soon schedule dates for a new jury trial.
Taylor was charged with murder, burglary, theft, robbery, criminal confinement and other crimes in the Nov. 10, 2015, shooting that killed Blackburn, 28, who was 12-weeks pregnant at the time.
Taylor and two accomplices burglarized other homes in the northwest-side neighborhood that morning, records say, before entering the Blackburns' home in the 2800 block of Sunnyfield Court.
Davey Blackburn, the then-pastor of Resonate Church, returned from a gym workout that morning to find his wife had been shot in the head. Amanda Blackburn died Nov. 11, 2015.
The couple's son, then 1, was in the home but not injured.
The case drew national attention and fear. The Blackburns had moved from South Carolina to Indianapolis several years prior so the Rev. Davey Blackburn could launch Resonate Church, which folded in 2019.
Davey Blackburn has since remarried and is now a motivational speaker who runs faith-based courses that help people overcome pain and tragedy in their lives.
In April, Taylor's co-defendent Jalen E. Watson was sentenced to 29 years in prison in connection with Amanda Blackburn's death. Diano C. Gordon, another co-defendant, accepted a guilty plea and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 17, records show.
MORE | Judge hands 29-year prison sentence to man linked to Amanda Blackburn's death
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on Twitter: @vicryc.
