Unless new evidence is unearthed, the Arapahoe District Attorney will not pursue a second trial against a suspect in a 13-year-old cold case after a jury was unable to reach a verdict.
The case against Kevin LeWayne McKinney was dismissed without prejudice, meaning that it could be refiled if new evidence is discovered.
McKinney had been charged with murder in the death of Diane Juanita Caldwell, whose body was discovered on the 600 block of Peoria Street in Aurora in November 1998.
In McKinney’s first trial last month, which lasted seven days, a jury could not reach a verdict by Nov. 23, according to Casimir Spencer, spokeswoman for Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers.
McKinney was charged after his DNA was found in 2008 to be a match to material recovered at the crime scene.
Detectives and prosecutors face additional challenges in trying to solve cold cases because witnesses are forgetful or die and evidence is “inaccessible,” according to Spencer.
Anyone with further evidence can contact Aurora Det. Steve Conner.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or or .
