Each day for almost a month, Kim Bunning and Diane Curtis sat quietly on hard lacquered benches, listening with rapt attention to the court proceedings. They will resume the ritual again, beginning Sept. 8, when Scott Britton's first-degree murder and arson trial is expected to start all over again in Benton County Superior Court. Bunning, who is Britton's sister, and Curtis, his mother, say the disruption to their daily lives has been a small price to pay. With her was Curtis and Britton's grandmother, Betty Chamberlain. I know with every ounce of my body that my brother is innocent.
Prosecutors believe otherwise.
They say a cool and calculating Britton planned and executed the murder of his housemate and landlord, Aaron Laws, last June in the Richland home they shared. Attorneys on both sides of the case now will have a second opportunity to plan dueling strategies. Superior Court Judge Philip Raekes declared a mistrial in the case early last week. That came about because the spouse of a juror told her husband that Britton faced the possibility of life in prison. The juror then inadvertently discussed it during deliberations.