A judge has declared a penalty phase mistrial for an Ahwatukee Foothills man previously convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse in the 2004 death of his young son.
Maricopa County Superior Court jurors were unable to reach a verdict Wednesday on whether Jeffrey Martinson should get the death penalty.
The 43-year-old Martinson was convicted Nov. 14. He was accused of killing his 5-year-old son Joshua Eberle-Martinson after a weekend visitation in August 2004.
Authorities say the boy was found dead in a bunk bed at his father's apartment.
A laboratory tested Joshua's blood at the time of death and found toxic levels of a muscle relaxer.
The trial was delayed for years as Martinson went through five sets of legal counsel. It finally began last August.
