Austin Ford (Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office) (Gwinnett County Sheriffs Office)
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Prosecutors will need to decide whether to re-try a Lithonia man accused of killing his best friend for murder after the jury managed to only reach a partial decision, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.
Austin Ford, 21, was facing several charges in the death of 18-year-old Tori Lang.
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Mistrial on murder charge in Tori Lang case
Prosecutors will need to decide whether to re-try a Lithonia man accused of killing 18-year-old Tori Lang for murder after the jury managed to only reach a partial decision, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.
On Monday, the Gwinnett County jury reached a partial verdict in the case. The court declared a mistrial on counts 1-5. Those were the most serious charges, which included felony murder. Ford was found guilty on counts 6-8: 2 counts of theft by taking, and concealing the death of another.
He had faced a life sentence if convicted of felony murder for Lang’s shooting death, which happened in July 2021.
The jury announced on Monday — the third day of deliberations — that they were deadlocked. The jury indicated on Friday that they were struggling to reach a decision, saying they were "split down the middle" on the top counts of felony murder and aggravated assault and two counts of weapon possession.
Judge Deborah Fluke declared a mistrial because of the deadlock. The Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office tells FOX 5 they will be meeting with Lang's family before deciding on whether to re-try the case on murder.
Tori Lang (Photo: Family)
Ford’s defense argued that he was wrongly accused of murder because Lang decided to kill herself. A medical examiner was unable to determine if Lang’s death was a homicide or suicide, but Gwinnett County prosecutors said the more likely scenario was that Ford was pointing the .9 mm handgun at Lang when the gunshot was fired.
Lang, a Stephenson High School honor graduate, was pursing a degree in architectural engineering. Her body was found at Yellow River Park in Gwinnett County on the morning of July 28. According to authorities, Lang's car was set on fire and dumped at a nature preserve a few miles away. Police said officers found her light blue 2012 Nissan Versa at the Hidden Acres Nature Preserve in DeKalb County, about four miles from where Lang was shot.