A judge declared a mistrial in the case of an Irish firefighter accused of rape in Boston. What happens now?

Boston Globe

30-06-2025

After six days of deliberation, the jury said they were deadlocked and Superior Court Judge Sarah Weyland Ellis declared a mistrial on June 20.
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The Suffolk District Attorney's Office said they will retry the case, and Weyland Ellis set a second trial date for Oct. 14.
Crosbie is being held on $50,000 bail at the Suffolk County Jail, where he has been in custody
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After being questioned by police about the woman's allegations, Crosbie bought a flight and boarded a plane to Ireland on March 16, three days before he told authorities he planned to leave Boston with other Dublin Fire Brigade members, prosecutors said. Law enforcement officials had to rush to Logan Airport and escort him off the plane, prosecutors said.
If Crosbie were to post bail, the judge ordered him to remain in Massachusetts under GPS monitoring.
But Crosbie can't afford to post bail this summer, his lawyer, Daniel C. Reilly, said. Even if he posted bail, he wouldn't be able to afford housing in Massachusetts, Reilly said.
'He doesn't have anywhere to go, he doesn't have anywhere to stay,' Reilly said.
Terence Crosbie (center from left) waits to leave the courtroom at around 4 p.m. on Monday, June 16. Jurors on Monday did not reach a verdict in the case after beginning deliberations shortly before noon.
Claire Thornton/Globe Staff
What happened at the first trial?
Crosbie's first trial lasted six days and was followed by more than
His accuser took the stand and gave emotional testimony,
'I woke up, and a guy was inside of me,' the woman told the jury, tears streaming down her face.
Crosbie referred to the other man, who was snoring in the other bed, as a pathetic 'loser' who couldn't give the woman what she wanted, she testified.
Crosbie testified that he went to his Omni Parker
House hotel room and got into his bed without having any contact with the woman.
Prosecutors called a
They testified that two distinct male profiles were found but
they did not contain enough DNA to identify their source.
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In her closing arguments, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy argued that the DNA evidence was proof that a second man had sexual contact with the woman that night.
'There's no mystery man here, there's no phantom rapist who slipped off into the night,' Murphy told the jury. 'Terence Crosbie is guilty.'
The defense said Crosbie's accuser had been out drinking all evening, which led to memory lapses on her part, including failing to remember
Crosbie's many arm tattoos.
The jury was handed the case on June 16, and deliberated for the rest of the week, except for the Juneteenth holiday on Thursday.
On Friday, the jury sent a note to the judge saying they were deadlocked, and Weyland Ellis gave them a special legal instruction designed to encourage a verdict.
'You should consider that it is desirable that the case be decided, and that you have been selected in the same manner and from the same source from which any future jury would be,' Weyland Ellis told the jury of
eight men and four women.
A few hours later, jurors said they still could not reach a unanimous decision, and the judge declared a mistrial.
'I think a mistrial is unfortunate,' Murphy told the judge before telling the court her office would retry the case.
Finding a jury for rape cases can be challenging, Murphy said after the mistrial was declared.
'In general in these cases, it's very
difficult
to get people on the jury who have any experience, personally or that of loved ones, with sexual assault,' Murphy told the Globe. 'As soon as someone discloses they're a survivor, it's a reason to challenge them and their ability to sit on the jury.'
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Claire Thornton can be reached at