KALISPELL – A jury trial for a Kalispell man charged with deliberate homicide in the death of his boyfriend ended in a mistrial last week.
Ryan Cody Lamb was charged and plead not guilty to one count of deliberate homicide for the death of his partner Ryan Nixon, 31, that occurred on Aug. 5, 2018, at their Kalispell residence.
According to court documents, on Aug. 5, 2018, Kalispell Police Department responded to a residence in Flathead County on Two Mile Drive after receiving a report of a possibly deceased male.
Upon arrival, officers found Ryan Nixon deceased. Ryan Cody Lamb admitted to stabbing Nixon with scissors during a sexual encounter, killing him.
Later that month, Lamb was arraigned in court and plead not guilty to the felony charge of deliberate homicide.
Judge Robert Allison presided over the jury trial, which began on June 3 in Flathead County District Court.
The case went to the jury on June 13. But after two days of deliberation, on Friday afternoon the jury was in a deadlock.
Allison declared a mistrial.
According to Flathead County District Court, Lamb’s defense attorney Alisha Backus asked judge Allison for an acquittal, which was denied.
The jury is discharged until further notice. The court will reconvene on July 11 at 9 a.m. to decide how to proceed.
