WILKES-BARRE -- After nearly four hours of deliberations, the jury has recessed for the day Tuesday in the double murder trial of Hugo Selenski. No verdict has been reached.
The judge instructed jurors to take their time and go over everything as they began deliberations, as they go through charges against Selenski.
After spending most of the afternoon waiting for the jury to reach a verdict, both Hugo Selenski and the families of Michael Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett were eager to leave the courthouse, even if it meant an accidental encounter.
The charges against Selenski range from homicide to robbery in connection with the deaths of Kerkowski and Fassett in 2002. Their bodies wouldn't be found until a year later in the backyard of Selenski's home in the Back Mountain.
The jury will continue to sift through evidence and testimony from more than 50 witnesses to determine if Selensky is guilty.
During closing arguments, both sides put on a show, trying to prove their side of the story.
The prosecution banged a rolling pin on wood in the courtroom to show the jury how Selenski allegedly used the same rolling pin to beat one of his victims.
The prosecution also reminded the jury of the victims' families, saying, "They believed monsters didn`t exist until Hugo Selenski showed them."
While the defense tried to humanize Selenski, saying, "We will admit he`s not a choir boy. We`re just saying he did not kill Michael Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett."
One of the defense's biggest arguments was the lack of evidence, which they made sure to hit home, saying the prosecution presented "not a single solitary piece of forensic evidence, in all the flex ties, the duct tape, all the cars that they seized."
The jury will resume deliberations at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. If they convict Selenski of first degree murder, there would then be a penalty phase to determine whether or not the death penalty is an appropriate punishment.
