Judges introduce conflicting documents in appeal hearing for man convicted of murder

ALIQUIPPA, Pa. — It was a rush of emotions for the family of Sheldon Jeter Jr.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >> Local mother speaks out after son convicted of murder gets appeal hearing

“I think we are going to have a fair trial coming,” said Delsha Flannigan, who’s Jeter’s mom.

Flannigan is hopeful that the three judges in Appellate Court will side with her son.

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Jeter was convicted and sentenced for the murder of Tyric Pugh last year. During that trial, questions surfaced over the potential miscount of jurors and what the jury may have heard from the public, but it took over a year to get the appeal hearing.

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“It’s been a very long journey,” Flannigan said.

On Tuesday, the judges pored over the documents introduced by witnesses in the courtroom during the trial. The judges zeroed in on two paragraphs.

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One stated that Juror #3 told her father “she was a juror and what was happening during the trial.” The other said “she was having a hard time deciding what to do and with her father prayed on it and after they prayed, she made the decision.”

“You can’t just go out and talk to no one about a case and trial you are dealing with and me myself if I was a juror I wouldn’t do that. All I’m asking is that my son has a fair trial,” Flannigan said.

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In those court documents, it shows that juror lives next door to Rachel DelTondo. DelTondo was a teacher who had a relationship with Jeter and was murdered on Mother’s Day in 2018. Jeter was questioned, but never charged.

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The case including Jeter’s involvement made national news and was a topic of conversation in the courthouse during that trial.

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Jeter’s mom and defense team believe this new information and those side conversations bring into question the integrity of the guilty verdict.

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They hope the judges grant him the next hearing, which could lead to a verdict of a mistrial.

The Beaver County assistant district attorney on the case had no comment.

“I’m just happy that we did the first step and that was for the appeal to be heard by the superior court and we are going to go from there,” Flannigan said.

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Jeter’s family anticipates a ruling from this hearing in a few months and if it goes Jeter’s way, there will be an evidentiary hearing, which will determine if there is a mistrial or not.

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