RALEIGH -- Jurors ended a second day of deliberations today without reaching a verdict in the trial of Raymond Cook, the doctor charged with the second-degree murder of a ballerina in a 2009 car wreck.
The jury will reconvene Tuesday.
Prosecutors argued that Cook got drunk and drove 75 to 100 mph before slamming into the car of Elena Shapiro at the intersection of Lead Mine and Strickland roads.
To prove second-degree murder, prosecutors must show that Cook acted with malice. To prove malice under North Carolina law, prosecutors must convince the jury that Cook intended to drive in a reckless manner that reflected knowledge that injury or death probably would result.
Cook’s lawyers say that he was not acting maliciously.
Shapiro was an apprentice at the Carolina Ballet.
The 12 jurors debated three hours on Friday before breaking for the weekend.
Jurors were asked to weigh second-degree murder, which includes an element of malice and the possibility of a 91/2- to 24-year prison sentence. They also could find the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter, bringing a lesser prison sentence and possibly probation. Or they could find Cook not guilty.
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