ELY, Nev. - After three days of testimony and 12 hours of deliberations, a jury deadlocked on whether Reginaldo Nestor was guilty of murder in the stabbing death of an Ely man at the Stardust Ranch brothel.
The panel found the 41-year-old sheepherder guilty of battery with a deadly weapon, causing substantial bodily harm, but could not agree on the more serious counts of murder and attempted murder.
Nestor, a Chilean national, was charged in the death of Joseph Bates, 54. He also was charged with attempted murder
and battery with a deadly weapon in the stabbing of John Christopher, 55, of Ely.
The stabbings occurred after a fight broke out between Nestor and Patricio Osvaldo, 35, and Bates and Christopher inside the brothel in the early hours of Aug. 1, 1999.
The case, heard by District Judge Merlyn H. Hoyt, began Monday. Closing arguments ended Thursday afternoon and the jury wrestled with the case well into the night, returning Friday morning to resume deliberations.
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