Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Trial in Wife’s Slaying Ends in a Hung Jury : Courts: Nine on panel favor guilty verdict for Palmdale man accused of shooting spouse. New trial is set for March 29.

VAN NUYS — The trial of accused wife-killer Jeffrey Peitz ended in a mistrial Tuesday with the jury deadlocked after a week of intense deliberations.

The jury in Van Nuys Superior Court was 9 to 3 in favor of a guilty verdict--up from a 6-to-6 split on Monday--when the jury was declared deadlocked.

A new trial has been set for March 29. Peitz was denied bail and will remain in custody until the second trial.

Peitz, a 39-year-old letter carrier, was arrested in August on charges that he fatally shot his wife in the living room of their Palmdale home as she sat watching “Cops,” her favorite television show.

Peitz had told sheriff’s deputies he was upstairs in the house folding laundry when he heard gunshots. He said he rushed down to the living room to see Teri Lynn Peitz lying on the floor and a black man leaving through the front door.

On the 911 call he made afterward, Peitz is heard saying, “A black guy came in and shot her in the head.”

Authorities said they later discovered that James Shaw, an African American man Peitz identified as the murderer, had a solid alibi because he was in Michigan at the time of the killing.

The case conjured up similarities to those of Charles Stuart in Boston and Susan Smith in South Carolina, both of whom claimed a black man committed murders for which they are now charged.

John A. Portillo, lead prosecutor in the Palmdale case, said there is enough evidence of motive and opportunity to prove Peitz’s guilt. Portillo said the prosecution will not drastically change tactics for the new trial.

“We anticipate pretty much the same case,” he said. “We got nine (jurors) this time, we’ll get 12 of them next time.”

Peitz’s attorney, Richard S. Plotin, said the hung jury was a disappointment. “It’s a victory, but it’s not the victory we’re looking for,” he said. Plotin said prosecutors had only circumstantial evidence against his client.

The two .22-caliber bullet casings found next to the victim’s body matched no ammunition Peitz kept in the house. Also, a gun residue test performed on Peitz came back negative. But the prosecution said Peitz had more than enough time to dispose of evidence and wash his hands before police arrived.

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The evidence against Peitz included a co-worker’s testimony that Peitz was having an affair with a fellow employee. Peitz’s daughter, Michelle, testified in a preliminary hearing that her parents had attended marriage counseling sessions two years ago, and that her mother had learned about an extramarital affair early in 1994.

Authorities also suggested that Teri Lynn Peitz’s $100,000 insurance policy may have been a motive for the murder.

Teri Lynn Peitz ran a day care center for 12 children and was the organizer of one of the largest Neighborhood Watch programs in Palmdale.