Circuit Judge Rene Williams unexpectedly sent jurors in the Pat Tinsley trial home after their dinner break Thursday night.
Tinsley, 50, is accused of conspiring along with his wife to burn their home on Aug. 1, 2010 in order to collect the insurance money. Tinsley's wife, 47-year-old Glenda Tinsley, died in that fire at their two-story Wilson Farm Road home. He is charged with second-degree arson by complicity, a Class B felony, and reckless homicide, a Class D felony.
The jury was sent to dinner just before 5 p.m. The judge stopped the trial at that opportune time because the homecoming parade was getting started outside the courthouse on Main Street. She asked the jury to eat dinner across the street then return for more testimony at 6 p.m.
However, when jurors came back to the courtroom, Judge Williams told them the court would recess until 8 a.m., Friday morning. The judge said some legal issues had arisen that must be considered before the trial can resume.
