Sep 15, 2016 3 min read

The trial of a state trooper charged with simple assault in an Oct. 25 domestic violence incident at his North Strabane Township home ended in a hung jury.

A Washington County jury of five men and seven women deciding the case voted Thursday afternoon before Judge Gary Gilman. Nine jurors cast not-guilty votes on a single charge of simple assault, while three wanted to convict Christopher Campbell, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, who was sworn in as a state trooper in 2008.

The two-day proceeding, which concluded Wednesday afternoon before deliberations began, was declared a mistrial.

Attorney Christopher Blackwell, who represented Christopher Campbell, said he hopes “the commonwealth will view the 9-3 vote as a reason not to try the case again” and instead drop the charges.

Blackwell said the state police internal affairs division won’t launch its own investigation of the incident before the conclusion of the criminal case and called the mistrial “unfair for Chris. It’s been now 11 months since he was laid off.” He was suspended without pay Oct. 26.

Police said Campbell, 34, struck his wife, Emily Campbell, 32, with an open fist in the upstairs hallway of their town home at 229 Fieldbrook Drive, during an argument that ensued after he came home after being out much of the day with friends and drinking at least some of that time.

Christopher Campbell allegedly later grabbed her while she was trying to get help from neighbors and threw her to the ground, according to police.

The defense disputed authorities’ characterization of the incident.

During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Kristin Clingerman focused on statements neighbors and Emily Campbell gave to police. At a December preliminary hearing, Emily Campbell described her husband as “out of control” and said he struck her after he returned home and found the children hadn’t been bathed.

The prosecutor said the previous account Emily Campbell offered of the incident contradicted the one she gave at trial, which was more favorable to the defense.

Blackwell stressed testimony Emily Campbell and her husband gave during the trial that cast the wife as the aggressor in the situation.

From the stand, each spouse said the blow to Emily Campbell’s face in the hallway resulted from Christopher Campbell putting his hands up to protect himself when she lunged at him.

Later, when Campbell grabbed his wife outside their neighbors’ home, it was because he wanted to calm her down and bring her back to the house. Instead of throwing her to the ground, the defense argued both of them fell when she flailed and tried to get away from him.