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The Montana Attorney General’s Office will be refiling charges against Three Forks resident Zachary Norman.
A mistrial was declared Friday, July 28, in the felony deliberate homicide trial of Norman, who was charged after the January 15, 2022, shooting deaths of Brendan Estabrook and Chase Estabrook of Butte near 6th and Ash Streets in Three Forks.
After three days of deliberation and the jury deadlocked at 10 in favor of guilt and two for acquittal, 18th Judicial District Court Judge John C. Brown announced the mistrial on Friday afternoon.
“The State will be refiling within the next two to three weeks with the family’s full support. Trial dates will be set at the August scheduling conference,” said Press Secretary for the Montana Attorney General’s Office, Emily Flower.
The jury returned with a conviction of Norman on two counts of felony tampering with evidence.
According to Montana Law, a person convicted of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence “shall be imprisoned for a term not to exceed ten years or be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000 or both.”
Norman is still in custody at the Gallatin County Jail in Bozeman.
His bond is currently set at $1 million.
The case was moved from the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office to the state’s Prosecution Services Bureau in early 2023.
