Man acquitted of 1st-degree murder in treehouse case. Jury hangs on 2nd-degree murder
A jury hung Monday on some counts in the trial of a man accused of killing a romantic rival at a treehouse near Orting and burning down the crime scene.
After a week and a half of deliberations, jurors Monday acquitted Troy Joe Chute of first-degree murder but could not reach a decision about whether to convict him of the lesser crimes of second-degree murder or first-degree manslaughter for the death of 34-year-old Jacob Nicholas. The jury also hung on first- and second-degree arson counts.
Jurors did return a verdict that convicted Chute, 44, of third-degree assault, a lesser crime than the first-degree assault he was charged with.
Defense attorney Bryan Hershman said jurors voted 9-3 to acquit his client of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter, and 11-1 to acquit him of arson.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge James Orlando declared a mistrial as to those counts, and a new trial was set for next year.
Sentencing for the assault conviction was set for next month.
Prosecutors argued Chute and Nicholas loved the same woman and that jealousy and rage led Chute to kill Nicholas on March 12, 2018, at the remote treehouse where the woman was staying.
Chute was also upset because he believed Nicholas had stolen his Harley motorcycle, prosecutors alleged.
Nicholas was shot in the chest at the treehouse and the woman was shot in the foot.
Chute argued that he shot Nicholas in self-defense and that he didn’t mean to shoot the woman.
The treehouse had burned down when investigators arrived.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
