LIVINGSTON, La. (BRPROUD) – A unanimous jury found Blayson Paul Fife of Gonzales guilty of second-degree murder on Thursday, March 16.
This was the second time that a jury decided Fife’s fate. On Aug. 26, 2019, a jury found Fife guilty by a vote of 10-2.
“The two jurors who did not vote with the majority opinion stated they believed Fife to be guilty of First-Degree Murder and did not wish to vote either not guilty or with the majority,” according to the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Officials said all jurors agreed he was guilty of murder.
Fife was granted a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Ramos vs. Louisiana and ruled that split verdicts were unconstitutional, officials said.
Fife’s guilty verdict stems from an investigation that began on July 23, 2017, in Walker after a shooting victim was found dead inside a home. The district attorney’s office said a person of interest in the case, Joe Anthony Baluch Jr., told authorities that he and Fife took two guns and a safe from the home before the shooting.
Fife admitted to his involvement in the crime after learning that his DNA was found at the scene, officials said.
A judge will sentence Fife on April 27, 2023.
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