WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jurors have yet to decide on a verdict in the retrial of a retired Palm Beach County deputy charged with first-degree murder. Deliberations will resume Monday.
Carlton Nebergall is accused of shooting and killing his estranged son-in-law, Jacob Lodge, in February 2018. He's pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Deliberations began after both sides finished closing arguments Wednesday afternoon.
Defense attorneys argue Nebergall shot Lodge in self-defense. On Tuesday, Nebergall told the jury Lodge allegedly had a long history of violence against women and fits of rage.
Nebergall said after he heard Katrina and Lodge fighting outside his home, he was afraid Lodge might hurt his daughter.
This is the first time a jury has deliberated in this case, but the second time it has gone to trial.
A mistrial was declared in December because a juror was caught using a cellphone while Nebergall's defense attorney was giving his closing arguments.
Nebergall has never denied shooting and killing his son-in-law, but the argument is over Nebergall's intentions at the time of the shooting. Prosecutors claim it was murder. Nebergall's defense attorneys said it was self-defense.
At the time of the killing, Lodge was married to Nebergall's daughter, Katrina, and the couple shared two sons together, according to court records. But Katrina Nebergall and Lodge were living apart from one another, having recently filed for divorce.
After the divorce, Katrina Nebergall moved in with her father.
On the night of the shooting, Lodge showed up outside of his estranged father-in-law's home to exchange children's clothes with his wife. That's when witnesses said Carlton Nebergall came outside and fired one warning shot into the area.
Nebergall testified Tuesday that he feared for his daughter's safety.
"I knew that I was no match," Nebergall said. "He outweighed me, so I went to my room and I got my gun."
Court records show at the time, Lodge was not supposed to be near his father-in-law. A no-contact order had been issued in 2017 after Lodge was caught stealing about $9,000 worth of jewelry and tools from his father-in-law and pawning them. The 36-year-old Lodge pleaded guilty to the crimes and a no-contact order was part of his two-year probationary period.
After the warning shot, investigators said Lodge got in his car and started to drive away, but stopped and got back out of his car, walking toward Nebergall, who shot Lodge.
A jury must decide whether that shot was in self-defense or in cold blood.
