Jury deadlocks in pillow fight murder trial

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A jury has deadlocked in the trial of a western Pennsylvania woman charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend during an argument over their favorite pillow.

The Fayette County jury could not decide Thursday whether to convict 44-year-old Johnna Palya, of Hopwood, on charges of first-degree murder or third-degree murder.

As a result, she’ll be tried again, perhaps as early as next month, in the death of 43-year-old Barry Pavlicko on Aug. 26, 2007.

Police say Palya shot Pavlicko after he took a pillow she wanted to use then attempted to shove her down the stairs.

Palya testified at trial that the gun went off accidentally, but police say she confessed to shooting Palya and that physical evidence shows she did so purposely in the back of his head.