UPDATE: Jurors have found a homeless man guilty in the 2009 beating death of another homeless man.
The punishment hearing for Danny Grammer will begin Thursday morning.
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Jurors have deliberated for more than five hours in the case of a Bryan man accused of fatally beating a known sex offender with a steel pipe, but no verdict has been reached.
The panel of nine men and two women asked at around 5:30 p.m. to see the weapon authorities said Danny Grammer used to bludgeon 20-year-old Dale Ellis in an abandoned Laundromat. Pizza arrived for the jurors’ dinner at around 6 p.m.
Grammer has conceded that he killed Ellis, but pleaded insanity in the case. To be found insane, his lawyer needed to convince jurors that Grammer didn’t know the difference between right and wrong at the time.
If he is found guilty, Grammer could face up to a life sentence. If he’s found not guilty, District Judge Steve Smith will have the option to order him to spend time in a mental institution.
During six days of testimony, prosecutors called witnesses who said Grammer had assaulted and threatened to kill Ellis prior to his death. They also presented DNA evidence that indicated he wore a pair of jeans found with Ellis’ blood on them near the crime scene.
Grammer was the victim of rape at the age of 9 and loathed Ellis because Ellis had previously been convicted of molesting a 6-year-old girl, prosecutors said.
Two psychologists — one called by prosecutors and one called by the defense — took the stand during the trial and gave different opinions on Grammer’s state of mind. The defense’s expert said Grammer was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and entered an dissociative state during the beating. The prosecution’s expert said Grammer acted out of rage, but was not insane.
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