Jury deadlocked in revenge case against slain man’s mother

Published 1:30 am Thursday, November 8, 2018

EVERETT — A Snohomish County judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a woman accused of burning down the house where her son was murdered.

Prosecutors allege that Cindy Wilson, 57, set the fire as revenge. She maintains her innocence.

Wilson was charged in July 2017 with second-degree arson. Earlier this year, the charges were upgraded to the first degree, a more serious offense.

Her trial began last week in Superior Court, and the jury went into deliberations Friday morning.

Just after 11 a.m. Monday, the jurors wrote a note to the judge, saying, “We have reviewed the evidence with an earnest desire to reach a verdict, but have not moved in our individual stances.”

A new trial has been scheduled for January.

Wilson’s son, Andrew Spencer, was shot to death in November 2015. He and his killer, George Hatt, reportedly had some kind of dispute while squatting together at a house outside Granite Falls. Spencer, 31, was missing for more than a week before his remains were discovered in a fire pit on the property.

The house fire happened not long after the death, while Hatt was awaiting trial. No one was in the home at the time, though Hatt’s girlfriend and her son were living there.

Hatt later was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 36 years in prison. His appeal continues.

Wilson’s arson case didn’t proceed until after the murder trial.

She has nine previous felonies in Snohomish County, dating from 1986 to 2007. She remains free, pending hearings.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.