BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A proposed plea deal in the trial of a Brevard County woman accused of killing her one-time friend was rejected.
Prosecutors said Sheila Graham-Trott thought the friend was dating her estranged husband.
Prosecutors told the judge that they made an offer that was rejected by the defendant. Trott's defense team then made a counteroffer that was rejected by the state.
For a moment it appeared that Trott's murder trial might end without a jury verdict. But after close to two hours of negotiations, outside the presence of a jury, attorneys could not reach an agreement.
"It appears that the discussions have come to an impasse, judge," Assistant State Attorney Jim McMaster told Brevard County Circuit Judge James Earp.
If convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, Trott could spend the remainder of her life in prison.
Prosecutors believe she killed Kelly Brennan, 46. Investigators said Brennan was dating Trott's estranged husband, former Indialantic Mayor Dan Trott. The couple divorced months after Brennan's body was located by investigators near Mark's Landing in South Melbourne Beach.
"I just need to know you've been fully informed about the parameters of any resolution and you've made your own independent judgment to reject them. Have you done that?" Earp asked Trott in court.
"Yes sir," she said.
With that testimony in the trial resumed.
Brennan's body was discovered on Feb. 16, 2010, just east of State Road A1A. Witnesses told the jury that it appeared that Brennan had been killed several miles from the scene, in her Indialantic front yard.
"There was an area where it was obvious that something of significant weight had been drug in the grass," said retired crime scene specialist Deborah Demers.
Prosecutors said they believe Trott used Brennan's vehicle to take her body from the scene of the slaying.