Jury unable to reach verdict in trial of man accused in Florence murder

FLORENCE, Ala. (WHNT) — A Lauderdale County jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of man accused of murdering a 48-year-old woman on Valentine’s Day 2021.

39-year-old Roydricker Lamar Bullock was originally charged with murder after Patrice Denice Lott was found dead inside her Florence home on North Royal Avenue in February 2021. An indictment by a grand jury in March 2022 upgraded the charge to capital murder.

Bullock’s capital murder trial began on Monday. Court documents say the jury began deliberating on Friday around 2 p.m. after closing statements and a brief lunch recess.

Court records state that the jury notified the court two times they were deadlocked before they were read dynamite charges before they told the court they were “hopelessly deadlocked, no positions had changed–nor would change–and that they were at a 100% impasse.”

According to court documents, Bullock stabbed Lott, causing her death during a burglary.

Shortly after Lott was found dead, the United States Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Task Force helped find and arrest Bullock at his home in Greene County, Alabama. Bullock was taken to the Lauderdale County Detention Center, and his bond was initially set at $150,000.

Bullock will remain in custody without bond, court records show.

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