BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Wendy Howard was back in court Friday morning after a jury found her not guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her ex-boyfriend Kelly Reese Pitts.
In October, the jury found her not guilty on a count of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary self-defense, and involuntary manslaughter. However, the jury remained split by 7 to 5 on the charge of manslaughter by the heat of passion. That charge would apply to someone who was in an uncontrollable rage when they killed someone else, especially if that person provoked them.
Friday in court the District Attorney's Office decided to retry Howard on that count.
Howard shot and killed her ex-boyfriend Kelly Rees Pitts in Tehachapi back in 2019. Howard had found out that Pitts had sexually abused her two daughters not long before the shooting. Prosecutors acknowledged that Pitts caused harm to the family, but said he should be in prison for that instead of dead.
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The jury seemed to have sided predominantly with the defense, which argued that law enforcement failed to bring Pitts to justice despite being made aware of the abuse before the shooting.
The retrial was scheduled for April 17, however, another hearing is scheduled for Feb. 21 where Howard's attorney will argue a retrial amounts to "once in jeopardy." The website TheLaw.com describes "once in jeopardy" as "the condition of a person charged with a crime, who has once already, by legal proceedings, been put in danger of conviction and punishment for the same offense."
During this time, Howard will remain out of custody.
