Feb. 29—WILLIAMSBURG — A mistrial has been declared in a murder trial in Whitley County Circuit Court.

Martin Allen Canada, 50, of Williamsburg, had been charged with murder in connection to the September 2022 shooting death of his stepson 31-year-old Kyle Chadwell.

Canada’s trial began on Monday and ended the following day with a hung jury.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling prosecuted the case, with Whitley County Circuit Court Judge Paul Winchester presiding.

According to testimony from Kyle’s mother, Vanessa Chadwell, the pair had gotten along relatively well until Kyle grew to be an adult.

In the years preceding this incident, according to Ms. Chadwell, the two had gotten into several physical altercations, one of which left Canada with a broken shoulder.

According to her testimony, Canada had also allegedly shot at Kyle previously whilst he was driving away.

In the direct moments preceding Kyle’s death, a dispute began between him and Canada revolving around Kyle Chadwell remaining in a camper near Canada’s home.

The altercation turned violent and the two began throwing things at each other, though none of the objects hit either party.

At one point, Chadwell’s ex-girlfriend, who lived close by, exited her camper and fired a round from her handgun into the air as a means of ending the quarrel.

However, according to testimony, Canada then took the handgun from the ex-girlfriend.

Chadwell, seeing this, ran into Canada’s home and locked the door, preventing entry.

Canada then allegedly fired into the door of his home, causing a bullet to hit Chadwell in the forehead.

Chadwell’s fiancee, Elizabeth Evelyn, was also there at the scene and fled once the shot had been fired.

Coincidentally, Evelyn ran into Vanessa Chadwell while fleeing.

Ms. Chadwell was returning from picking up a family friend. She drove as fast as possible to the scene, cradling her son while waiting for EMS to arrive.

Kyle Chadwell passed away soon thereafter from his injuries.

Throughout the trial, Bowling argued that Canada’s act was intentional, though not premeditated, and therefore still met the requirements to be convicted of Murder.

Canada’s defense attorneys, Cliff Wilson and Caleb Adams, argued that the conflict placed Canada in a state of fear for his safety and that Chadwell’s unlawful barring of Canada from his home were mitigating factors that the jury should consider as a reasonable doubt as to the offense of murder.

Ultimately, the jury was declared hung after they could not come to an unanimous decision Tuesday evening, thus forcing a mistrial.

The final vote tally was 11-1 in favor of conviction.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling made a statement regarding the mistrial: “When a jury can’t agree unanimously, the court has to declare a mistrial. The case will be assigned another trial date and we’ll re-try Mr. Canada in front of a different jury panel…It’s just a testament to the complexity of our jury system. I think both the prosecution and defense made solid points today on the evidence, and the hung jury confirms that.”