The trials of Chris D. Duve and Angela May Shaver for the murder of Paul Cline took significantly different paths last week. Shaver’s jury was dismissed because of misconduct.
Both trials, with separate juries, began Thursday, April 19. After a recess following the opening statements, the two trials quickly assumed separate identities.
Judge Kelly Hansen announced the court had received an anonymous phone call alleging misconduct. Hansen separately interviewed five of the Shaver jurors. After a defense motion for mistrial, Hansen decided to declare a mistrial on his own motion.
The court record states, “The court finds there is no way to salvage this jury.”
In 2006, investigators from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Hemet Station responded to reports of a theft at the Cline residence. They served a search warrant at the residence on evening of March 21, 2006.
Selection of a new jury for Shaver’s trial resumed Tuesday, April 24. Duve’s jury was told to return to court Monday, April 30, so that the simultaneous trials might resume.
During a search, evidence supported the search warrant for theft and indicated that Cline had been the victim of murder. Cline’s body was found during a nightlong Homicide Team investigation of his home and a nearby hillside north of Bautista Road in Anza.
