The jurors had to restart their deliberations today after a juror was dismissed in the Michelle Lodzinski murder trial.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- The newly constituted jury in the trial of Michelle Lodzinski, charged with the murder of her 5-year-old son Timothy Wiltsey in 1991, deliberated for about two hours Tuesday afternoon before going home for the day.
The jurors had to restart their talks Tuesday after a juror, who was the foreman of the jury, was dismissed in the morning due to what Superior Court Judge Dennis Nieves called "personal reasons" he said "had nothing to do with other members of the jury."
After one of the alternates was chosen to replace the juror, Nieves instructed them to start their deliberations over and disregard whatever the former juror, identified only as Mr. Woodcock, had contributed since deliberations began Thursday.
The jurors spent most of their time over the past four days listening to the playing back of eight different witnesses who testified during the nearly two and a half month-long trial. The four alternates also sat in for the playback of the witnesses' testimony.
The complication with the juror arose Monday afternoon as Nieves and the attorneys, the two Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutors, Scott LaMountain, and Lodzinski's attorney, Gerald Krovatin, were waiting for the jury to clarify what playback from one of the witnesses they wanted.
The judge received a note, shared it with the attorneys and then ordered the courtroom cleared. The courtroom doors were locked and the jury foreman was brought in for questioning. Through the locked doors, one could see him and then the other jurors were questioned individually. The attorneys and judge held discussions that lasted the rest of Monday afternoon and into Tuesday morning.
The jury foreman was dismissed mid-morning by the judge in a locked courtroom. After his dismissal and the, the jury was brought in, the courtroom was opened, and the judge addressed the jury, telling them to "give no weight to anything Mr. Woodcock said in deliberations."
Before the jurors left Tuesday afternoon, the judge reminded them of what he told therm months ago when the trial started--why it was important that they "shhh"--not talk about the case with anyone outside of the jury room.
"I'm grateful for the time and attention you're giving this case," he said. "I told you all not to blow this. You're doing a great job."
Lodzinski was charged in August 2014 with the murder of her son after the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office reopened the case in 2011.
She originally told police her son disappeared when she went to buy soda at a concession stand at a carnival in Kennedy Park in Sayreville the evening of May 25, 1991, but that version changed several times over the next few weeks. She later told police he was abducted by a woman named Ellen she knew when she worked at a bank and two men who were were her at the carnival.
Timmy's skeletal remains were found on April 23, 1992 in a swampy areas of Raritan Center in Edison, 11 months after his mother reported him missing.
Lodzinski has always maintained she had nothing to do with his disappearance or death.
Jurors must decide among the charges of murder, aggravated manslaughter and manslaughter. Here's how the charges differ:
-- Murder is punishable by up to life in prison, and the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lodzinski purposely and or knowingly caused the death or serious bodily injury resulting in the death of her son.
-- Aggravated manslaughter is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and the state must prove that Lodzinski recklessly caused Timothy's death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life.
-- Manslaughter is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and the state must prove that Lodzinski recklessly, or in the heat of passion, caused Timothy's death as a result of reasonable provocation.
Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.