21 Sep 2011

Jury in NZ nurse murder trial discharged

6:00 pm on 21 September 2011

The Australian jury in the trial of the man accused of murdering a New Zealand nurse has been discharged.

New South Wales Supreme Court judge Derek Price made the decision on Wednesday for legal reasons.

Walter Marsh, a former United States marine, denies slashing Michelle Beets' throat on the porch of her home in April last year. She was also stabbed eight times.

Ms Beets had been living and working in Sydney.

The murder trial was in its sixth day of evidence and has aborted for legal reasons that cannot be disclosed, the ABC reports.

Mr Marsh, 51, will be tried before a new jury, likely to be empanelled on Friday.

Justice Price told the jury of seven women and five men before discharging them he was taking this course only as a last resort and with deep regret.