Jury continues deliberations

The jury continued deliberations at 9 a.m. As of 10:20 a.m., no decision had yet been made, but Judge Robert Crigler had initially said a mistrial would be declared at 10:30 if the jury could not agree on whether to convict Cook for first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Prior to that deadline, the jury asked Crigler to again give them the definition of "premeditation." The 12 jurors then went back into deliberations, and Crigler postponed the deadline.

Raised voices could be heard from the jury chambers Wednesday as 12 men and women debated the fate of the 23-year-old who is accused of committing the Feb. 14, 2007, murder of Bill Ross, a Shelbyville car salesman.

Cook was charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder.

On Wednesday, Crigler was passed a note before 5 p.m. that stated 11 jurors had voted to convict Cook of first degree murder and one voted for voluntary manslaughter.

Another note said that 11 were voting for conspiracy to commit first degree murder while a single juror was voting for conspiracy to commit voluntary manslaughter.

Defense attorneys first moved for a mistrial Wednesday afternoon, which was denied by Judge Crigler. The defense again called for a mistrial first thing this morning, but Crigler said at that time that not enough time had been spent in deliberations for a mistrial.

On Wednesday, one juror asked to be replaced with an alternate, citing medical difficulties, however, Crigler stated he can not replace a juror after deliberations have begun. Crigler also stated that the juror in question said during jury selection that his ailment would not prevent him from serving. The juror told Crigler this morning that he was well enough to continue.

Jurors asked Wednesday morning to be provided with a transcript of the testimony of Megan Jones and Justin Young, who testified on Tuesday.

Doing so would have taken an entire day to transcribe the material so Crigler had the court reporter play the recording of the testimony instead, which took most of the morning.

Before being dismissed on Tuesday evening, jurors had two questions. One inquired about the definition of "excitement and passion" as it applies to to premeditation and the other asked about Cook's mental state and requested her mental evaluation.

Crigler told jurors that there was no legal definition of "excitement and passion" except for the word's common usage. Since no metal evaluation of Cook was presented in the case, jurors were instructed to rely only on the facts and evidence presented in court.

Ross was shot three times while he slept in his bed at his Wartrace Pike home last Valentine's Day. His wife, 38-year-old Kimberly Ann Ross, was sentenced to life in prison last November after pleading guilty to first degree murder for her role in planning the slaying.

District Attorney Chuck Crawford claims Cook pulled the trigger while Young, 20, allegedly loaded the gun and let Cook enter the home to shoot Ross in order to make the death look like part of a home invasion.

Megan Jones testified Tuesday she was involved in an intimate relationship with Cook and had lived with her until right before the slaying.

Jones said she had heard Kimberly Ross, Cook and Young talking about Bill Ross, stating that Kimberly "wanted him gone" and "wanted to off him."

After the slaying occurred, Jones found the keys to the Ross' Nissan Versa and turned them over to the sheriff's department.

Jones also said she felt bad about not warning Bill Ross about the plot against his life, saying that she thought it would never happen, didn't believe it and thought "they were just mouthing off."

Young also testified Tuesday about his role in the slaying.

Defense attorney Jack Dearing said earlier this week that while Cook may be guilty of pulling the trigger, she should not be found guilty of conspiracy or premeditated murder.

"She is not guilty of first degree murder," Dearing told the T-G. "We're not saying she's not guilty of anything. We're saying the act which she committed was not an intentional or premeditated act."

Dearing claims that Young called Cook to the house, saying that Bill Ross had allegedly beaten Kimberly. When she arrived, Dearing says Cook found Kimberly and Justin talking about killing Bill Ross.

Dearing said that Cook then took the gun, "for whatever reason and fired, without thinking."