Mistrial Declared; Bill Cosby Jury Deadlocked On Verdict

The judge in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial declared a mistrial after jurors said they were deadlocked after five days of deliberations.

The jury informed the judge it was "deadlocked on all counts" in a note Saturday morning. The judge asked if jurors were "hopeless[ly] deadlocked," and each stood and agreed they were.

The fast-moving case went to the jury of seven men and five women Monday, on day six of the trial, after closing arguments painted different pictures of what happened between Cosby and Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia estate in 2004. But the sequestered jury failed to reach a verdict, pausing a half-dozen times to revisit key evidence, including Cosby's decade-old admissions that he fondled Constand after giving her pills. 

Late Thursday morning, the panel announced they were deadlocked, but the judge sent them back to work.

Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each one punishable by up to 10 years behind bars. 

The black comedian once known as America's Dad for his portrayal of kindly Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" suggested recently that race could have played a role in the case against him. The jury included two black members.   

Cosby used his power and fame to violate Constand, an employee of Temple University's basketball program, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden said in her opening statement. Constand, 44, testified last week that Cosby gave her three blue pills and then penetrated her with his fingers against her will as she lay paralyzed and half-conscious. She denied they had a romantic relationship and said she had rebuffed previous advances from him. 

Constand sued Cosby after prosecutors in 2005 declined to press charges. Cosby testified over a decade ago as part of that lawsuit, eventually settling with her for an undisclosed sum. Cosby didn't testify at the six-day trial. But jurors still heard plenty from him as prosecutors read them excerpts from his 2005 police statement and civil deposition.    

The Associated Press contributed to this report.