Mistrial declared in case of Kalispell stabbing death

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) - A judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a Montana man accused of stabbing his boyfriend to death with scissors.

The Flathead Beacon reported Friday that jurors deliberated for 13 hours but couldn’t deliver a verdict in 34-year-old Ryan Lamb’s deliberate homicide trial. The judge set a July 11 status hearing, where attorneys will likely discuss retrying the case at a new venue or culling a jury from another jurisdiction.

Lamb is accused of killing 31-year-old Ryan Nixon inside the couple’s Kalispell apartment in August. Defense attorneys argued Lamb retaliated after Nixon stabbed him in the chest with a fork during a drunken argument. A neighbor testified to hearing words to that effect the night of the killing.

Prosecutors said Lamb confessed, and his explanation of what happened changed several times.

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Information from: Flathead Beacon, http://www.flatheadbeacon.com