Jurors concluded their second full day of deliberations on Wednesday afternoon without reaching, or at least revealing, a final verdict in both of the two first-degree murder charges against Issiah Ross, 21, a former Eastern Alamance High School student (see related story, this edition).
Ross is charged with the shooting deaths of 18-year-old Devin Clark, a fellow student at Eastern, and 14-year-old Lyric Woods on the outskirts of Mebane in September 2022.
Jurors told visiting superior court judge Stephanie Reese that they had reached a unanimous verdict on the Clark murder charge, but it was not revealed what that verdict was. On the Woods murder charge, they told the judge they were divided 8-4 and could not reach a verdict.
The jury was released for the day, with the judge telling the jury to return on Thursday to try to reach a verdict on the Woods charge.
Jurors had deliberated for just under eight hours between last Thursday afternoon, January 22, and late Wednesday afternoon, when court recessed for the evening shortly before 5:00 p.m. Courts in Orange County were closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the winter storm this past weekend.
At 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, a bailiff handed a note to Reese, who is presiding over Ross’ trial in Orange County superior court, a note, which she read aloud once the jury was led back into the courtroom.
“I have received a note that reads, ‘We have a unanimous verdict regarding Devin Clark…your foreperson informs me you have been unable to agree upon a verdict [regarding Lyric Woods].’”
The jury is currently split 8-4 on whether to convict Ross in Woods’ murder, based on the note that Reese read aloud in court.
The defendant testified last week that he shot Clark in self-defense – but claimed that Clark shot Woods following an argument over sex during the early morning hours of September 17, 2022.
Before recessing for the evening, Reese reminded jurors of their duty to do whatever they can to reach a verdict on the count regarding Woods’ murder, as outlined within North Carolina’s “pattern jury instructions” and codified in state law.
Reese directed jurors to return at 9:00 a.m. this morning to continue their deliberations.
Before jurors were led back into the courtroom Wednesday afternoon, during a brief conversation between the judge, defense attorney Jonathan Trapp, and Orange County assistant district attorney Anna Orr, there was a reference to “an Allen charge” to the jury.
An Allen charge to a jury in a criminal trial pertains to an 1896 U.S. Supreme Court case, Allen v. United States, which refers to instructions given to a jury urging them to continue trying to reach a unanimous verdict.
Trapp opined that, given the time it would require to give that charge, his preference would be “let [jurors] come back fresh in the morning.” Orr agreed.
Judge could accept unanimous verdict for Clark, declare mistrial for Woods
Reese outlined the next possible steps for jurors once they returned to their seats in the courtroom.
“In this particular case, the way I understand everything, I can accept the unanimous verdict that has been found and declare a mistrial on the remaining count,” Reese told jurors Wednesday afternoon.
Should the jury remain deadlocked after they resume deliberations today, the judge could declare a mistrial on the charge related to Woods’ death, Reese said. The trial would enter the sentencing phase if Ross is found guilty in Clark’s death.
“I anticipate that we will probably have a final decision [today], one way or another,” Reese said prior to recessing for the evening at 4:43 p.m.
While the jury was given several options to consider in Clark’s death – first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, or not guilty – for Woods’ death, the jury’s instructions included only first-degree murder or not guilty.
Earlier during their deliberations Wednesday afternoon, jurors sent a note to the judge, seeking clarification about the difference between her instruction on malice, one of the elements of the murder charge, and that for voluntary manslaughter, Reese announced in open court before retiring to the judge’s chambers to research case law related to supplementary jury instructions.
Additional requests from jury
About 40 minutes later, at 1:07 p.m., Reese had the jury led back into the courtroom before announcing that she had received three requests: a shorter lunch (one hour versus the customary 1½ hours); pictures of evidence placards in relation to the location of Woods’ body at the crime scene; and clarification regarding the difference between the potential lesser charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter regarding Clark’s death.
To convict Ross of second-degree murder, Reese told jurors Wednesday afternoon, the state must prove that he unlawfully killed a human being with malice, but without premeditation and deliberation.
To convict him of second-degree murder on the grounds of self-defense, Reese said the state must prove: the defendant believed that deadly force was necessary to save himself from “death or great bodily harm”; and the circumstances at the time were sufficient to create such a belief in the mind of a person “of ordinary firmness,” as the elements of the charge are outlined in state law.
To find Ross guilty of voluntary manslaughter in Clark’s death, Reese told jurors, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he killed the victim “by an intentional and unlawful act” and that the defendant’s act was a “proximate cause” of the teen’s death.
To convict him of first-degree murder in either Clark’s or Woods’ death, the state must prove five things beyond a reasonable doubt: that the defendant intentionally and with malice killed the victims with a deadly weapon; that the defendant’s act was a proximate cause of death; that he intended to kill the victim(s); that he acted with premeditation, meaning he formed the intent to kill over a period of time, no matter how brief; and that he was in a cool state of mind at the time.
The trial is currently scheduled to resume at 9:00 a.m. today in Orange County superior court.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
Jury deliberations begin: https://alamancenews.com/double-murder-case-in-hillsborough-now-with-jury/
Here’s a summary of the closing arguments, instructions to jury, and their initial questions back to the judge: https://alamancenews.com/jurors-in-double-murder-case-begin-deliberations/
Here’s this week’s coverage in the Jan. 22, 2026 edition:
- Issiah Mekhi Ross, the former Eastern Alamance High School student who’s charged with double murder, took the witness stand this week to testify: https://alamancenews.com/defendant-takes-stand-in-double-murder-case/
- Meanwhile, his friend and sometime lover testified that Ross confessed to the murders the day after having committed them: https://alamancenews.com/former-friend-male-lover-testifies-that-defendant-confessed-double-murders-to-him-days-after/
First trial week’s stories:
- Parents reveal growing dread as they hadn’t heard from their teenagers: https://alamancenews.com/double-murder-trial-testimony-day-1-grieving-parents-relay-growing-concerns-when-they-couldnt-reach-their-teens/
- Difficulty in seeking juvenile suspect leads to change in state law, named for murder victims: https://alamancenews.com/murder-case-prompts-legislators-to-change-wanted-law/
