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Last updated on Friday, June 9, 2017
(BLOOMINGTON) - A jury acquitted a Bloomington woman on murder and robbery charges in connection with a man’s 2016 murder.
Jurors deliberated for more than four hours Thursday night before returning a not guilty verdict for 33-year-old Christina Harmon.
Police arrested her in March, six months after the death of 66-year-old Donald Gentry, who was found beaten to death at his mobile home in the 4500 block of Old State Road 37 South.
Gentry suffered so many blows to his head and face that an exact number of injuries could not be determined during an autopsy.
During an interview with detectives, Harmon told police she was with 63-year-old John Griffin the night of the murder.
According to court documents, Harmon told police Griffin came out of Gentry's residence with blood all over his face carrying a large brick and a bag of narcotic pills, which he threw in her lap while she sat inside Griffin's vehicle.
Harmon told police that Griffin put the brick in the floorboard of his vehicle, then reached behind the driver's seat, grabbed a bottle of "Windex" glass cleaner, and sprayed it on his face to clean the blood off. Harmon told officers Griffin then drove to a Motel 6 where he threw the brick over a fence.
After her interview, Harmon took the detectives to an area near the Motel 6 where detectives located a brick, which appeared to have blood spatter and hair attached to it. Detectives also discovered a hammer during their search.
Detectives were later able to verify there were similar type bricks located outside of Gentry's residence.
When detectives spoke with Griffin, he denied any involvement in the murder and stated that he did not know who Gentry was or where he had lived.
Detectives, while processing Griffin's vehicle, found a bottle of glass cleaner. Lab results determined that Gentry's blood was on the bottle, as well as the hammer found behind the motel.
Officers arrested John Griffin for the murder of Gentry in October 2016.
Gentry has a history of drug arrests in Monroe and Morgan counties, including recent convictions for meth-related charges. Police says Gentry was still involved in dealing drugs and believe Griffin went to the home to buy drugs, with the intention of robbing Gentry of meth and prescription drugs leading to the murder.
But detectives say Harmon planned the robbery - which resulted in Gentry's death but Harmon admitted to police that she was at the scene but said she was sitting in a parked vehicle when Griffin killed Gentry. She claimed she didn't have anything to do with Gentry's death.
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