Mistrial Declared In Dalia Dippolito Murder For Hire Trial

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WEST PALM BEACH (CBSMiami/AP) — Dalia Dippolito left the courthouse Wednesday as her future remains in limbo.

She wasn't found guilty but she was not exonerated either.

"On the record, at this time, I'm declaring this case mistrialed by virtue of the fact that this jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict," said Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley.

With three jurors wanting to convict and three wanting to find her not guilty, the jury deadlocked in the re-trail after Dippolito's initial guilty verdict was overturned.

"It is not a complete victory yet," said defense attorney Brian Claypool. "A complete victory is going to be a not guilty version in this case."

Dippolito is accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband, Mike. But that hitman was really an undercover cop from the Boynton Beach Police Department.

The jury saw secret recordings of their meetings.

"I just wanted to make sure this is what you want, you sure you want to kill this dude," the officer is overheard asking.

Police set up a fake crime scene, too, telling her the job was done. Her attorneys say the police were using her to find fame.

"Our whole theme in this case, just to be clear is, those video tapes that the whole world has watched, they are the result of improper and illegal police practices and, as a result, those videos are contaminated," said defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld. "We'll go to our grave knowing that the Boynton Beach Police Department manufactured this alleged crime for one reason... to make good reality TV. And it backfired."

The department released a statement saying in part, "We stand behind the principled work our detectives did on this investigation."

"They left so much on the table and it's a little disappointing," said Mike Dippolito, the defendant's ex-husband and intended target of the alleged hit.

He thinks the prosecution didn't tell the jury the whole story.

"The girl tried to put me in jail by planting drugs on me," he said. "The girl stole money from me, she poisoned me with anti-freeze, she hired the buck wild gang to kill me. They stole her money."

Dalia is now a mother. She gave birth to a son while on house arrest -- a surprise to many -- including her ex-husband.

"I don't even know how to answer that," he said. "I think, listen, it's mildly humorous, but listen, wish her all the luck in the world."

The state has vowed to fight on with a third trial.

"We are absolutely ready for round three," Dalia's attorneys said. "Tell them we can't wait. Tell them, great! Fantastic!"

Dippolito's conviction in 2011 was thrown out on appeal over a jury selection issue.

In a statement, Boynton Beach Police said they're confident that this is not over yet.

"We stand behind the principled work our detectives did on this investigation. We trust in our State Attorney to successfully prosecute this case, and we are confident we have given his office sufficient evidence to meet the State's burden."