Motion for mistrial denied as Zimmerman juror admits to following media coverage

A juror has been tossed from the Kirk Zimmerman murder trial jury after they admitted to reading an article about the case in a local newspaper.

A juror admitted to reading coverage of the trial in The Pantagraph “in order to find the correct spelling of a name.” The juror said they also read the “Dear Abbey” column and obituaries in the paper throughout the trial.

All 12 jurors and four alternates are required to sign a pledge everyday before testimony assuring they haven’t talked about the trial or followed any media coverage.

The defense filed a motion for a mistrial, but Judge Scott Drazewski denied the motion. Drazewski removed the juror in question and put in the first alternate as a replacement.

Jury deliberations must now restart.

Zimmerman is accused of killing his ex-wife, Pamela, in 2014.