Murder trial ends in 3rd hung jury

PANAMA CITY — New jurors didn’t change the outcome in the trial of Philip Dean Brock this week.

A jury failed to reach a verdict after Friday’s closing arguments and juror deliberations in the alleged murder-robbery of 65-year-old Terry Brazil by his friend Philip Dean Brock. Brock is charged with first degree murder, grand theft and robbery with a firearm in the December 2012 killing. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Shortly after the verdict, a pretrial hearing was set for May 28.

Friday morning, prosecutor Larry Basford painted Brock as a bizarre man desperate for money, who intentionally killed Brazil, also robbing him of a car, several guns and sets of valuable collectible coins.

The defense responded by saying impoverishment is not a crime and the state’s evidence points to a murderer; however, not necessarily to Brock.

The gun and knife used in the murder were not recovered.

Basford told jurors Brazil was killed Dec. 11, 2012, and the next day Brock had Brazil’s Cadillac and was “flush with money.”

Brock’s DNA was discovered on a bedpost — thought to be used as a club to bash Brazil’s head six times — and duct tape found at the crime scene, he reminded jurors.

And witnesses corroborated Brock’s destitute living conditions and Brock’s testimonies have been off kilter and inconsistent.

Basford said if Brock was in the presence of thousands of dollars of silver coins, living day-to-day on food stamps and handouts from family and neighbors doesn’t sound reasonable.

“If you believe his version or testimony,” Basford said, “and how he came in possession of all of Terry’s property, if you believe that, then you must believe that he also has a machine out there on his property that can cure cancer.

“This is not a complicated case,” Basford concluded. “The criminal evidence points to one conclusion: the criminal is guilty as charged.”

The prosecution’s closing arguments lasted about 50 minutes before the defense took the floor.

Alternately tapping his feet and crossing his legs were the only movements Brock made as closing arguments were given.

During her closing argument, defense attorney Jennifer Fury pointed to an unknown fingerprint and DNA found on the items at the crime scene and a doorknob.

Brock knew Brazil a long time, she told jurors, and “did not feel the need to murder him to make life better.”

She said coins that were found at Brock’s residence belonged to Brock and no evidence says otherwise, noting one of Brock’s relatives testified that Brock was a coin collector. And Brazil’s guns could have been at Brock’s residence prior to the murder.

Grabbing the bed post, which was found across the road from Brazil’s residence, Fury motioned the way blood would’ve splattered had the attacker been right handed; she said, based on the direction of the splatter, the attacker was left handed.

Brock is right handed, she said.

“There is DNA on the bedpost,” Fury said, showing a chart of DNA samples lifted from the bedpost. The lab technician “found Terry’s DNA, she found Dean’s DNA, she found somebody else’s DNA.”

The same unknown person’s DNA was found on a roll of duct tape found across the street from Brazil’s residence next to the thrown bed post.

“They knew from the beginning that there was somebody else,” she said, noting earlier that Brock had volunteered and cooperated with law enforcement from the beginning.

The prosecution’s argument lasted over three hours.

Just because Brock doesn’t live a conventional lifestyle and his property doesn’t appear to be in the ideal living condition, it doesn’t make him a murderer, she concluded.

“We have spent a lot of time talking about how poor that man is,” Fury had said, pointing at Brock. “Apparently, according to Mr. Basford, on behalf of the state of Florida … poverty deprives us of our moral compass.”