Mistrial declared in Eam murder case
Father of fatally stabbed James Barry says family ‘in it for the duration.’
A six-person
WEST PALM BEACH — jury was unable to agree Friday whether to convict Melanie Eam of second-degree murder in the November 2016 death of her former boyfriend, forcing Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley to declare a mistrial.
Prosecutor Scott Reid said the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office intends to retry the case. A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Oct. 12.
After two days of testimony, the jury deliberated for about 10 hours over two days before informing Kelley it couldn’t reach a consensus. Kelley said four jurors voted to convict Eam of second-degree murder with a weapon, while two thought she committed the lesser offense of manslaughter.
Eam, an Acreage resident, was accused of stabbing James Barry, 21, multiple times at his Loxahatchee home after he ended their two-year relationship through a text message.
“I’m very happy that all the jurors found Melanie Eam guilty of the murder of our son, James Barry,” said James Barry, the father of the victim. “We’re here for the duration. I don’t care if it takes another two years. It’s about finding justice for James.”
Eam has been in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail since her arrest in December 2016 and will remain incarcerated, Kelley ruled.
Bruce Lair, Eam’s attorney, said the 4-2 juror split shows “there was a ray of light shining through the charges, and we’ll see if the next jury finds it to be brighter or not.”
Lehr pointed out that a conviction for second-degree murder with a weapon is punishable by 30 years to life in state custody. Manslaughter sentences are capped at 15 years.
“Anything is better than a conviction,” Lehr said.
Eam, now 22, showed no emotion after Kelley announced the mistrial. She sat nearly motionless during the weeklong trial and did not testify.
“She’s quite frightened by the whole ordeal,” Lehr said.
Prosecutors argued Eam drove to Barry’s home on Nov. 17, 2016, grabbed a 13-inch knife from a kitchen drawer, then stabbed him.
A wound just above the heart severed two blood vessels and proved to be the fatal blow, according to a medical examiner. Barry died on a bed in his bedroom.
The major piece of evidence against Eam was a recorded confession she made to a Palm Beach County sheriff ’s detective after she fled to a relative’s home in Maryland.
Eam said in the confession that she didn’t mean to kill Barry but that her boyfriend’s decision to break up through text messages instead of in person “set me off.”
Attorneys for Eam unsuccessfully tried to keep jurors from hearing the recording.
During the trial, Lehr attempted to pin the murder on Guy Hand, the longtime boyfriend of Barry’s mother, Nicola.
Hand was sleeping with Nicola Barry in a nearby bedroom when he was awakened by screams. Hand said he attempted to perform CPR on Barry to no avail.
“I watched the life come out of his eyes,” Hand testified.
A knife — 13 inches long and 1 ½ inches wide — used by Hand the night before to carve a roast was found next to Barry’s bed.
After police entered the home, Hand said he picked up the knife and placed it on a kitchen counter so that no one else would be hurt. Hand also washed one of his blood-soaked hands.
Lehr asked Hand on the witness stand what he was “trying to hide” and told the jury that Hand had manipulated evidence.
Prosecutors repeatedly said during the trial that there was no evidence that Hand played any role in Barry’s death.
“I didn’t really like the way he was trying to get under my skin, and I didn’t like him saying I’m some kind of Houdini or something that could just kill somebody and disappear and come back all nice and clean,” Hand said. “No, I did not like that at all. His tactics disappointed me.”
Eam’s parents sat in the courtroom during the entire trial away from Barry’s family and friends.
“Hopefully we can get going to the next trial,” said Koy Eam, Melanie Eam’s father.
Kelley did not give an indication when a new trial might start.
“In reality, would I like this over?” James Barry said. “Of course. But, like I said, we’re in it for the duration.”