Mistrial Declared In Wife's Murder Trial

A Harris County judge ruled a mistrial Monday afternoon in the case of a Houston-area woman who was accused of murdering her husband.

Jurors told the judge that they were hopelessly deadlocked by a vote of 8-4, in favor of an acquittal, after two days of deliberations.

Tamara Heins said that she shot her husband in self-defense.

Heins said that in the fall of 2001 she left her husband, John Heins, but that he refused to give up the house the couple shared in the town of Spring.

On Dec. 1, after the couple had been arguing on the telephone, Tamara Heins said that she went to the house to try and convince her husband to leave. This time, she was carrying a pistol.

Tamara Heins testified that within minutes after arriving at the house, John Heins came toward her, threatening to kill her, so she fired the gun in self-defense.

"The woman called 911 within seconds of shooting her husband. He was shot once," defense attorney John Carroll said. "If somebody's going to go over there to murder someone, are they going to call 911 while they're still breathing?"

Prosecutors told the jury that Tamara Heins armed herself and went to the house specifically to finish the argument that started over the phone.

Otherwise, prosecutors said, that there was no reason for Heins to go to the house with a gun to confront a man she feared.

Tamara Heins characterized her husband as a 295-pound bully whose uncontrollable rages were fueled by regular dozes of anabolic steroids, News2Houston reported.

The steroids were prescribed to treat an HIV infection, she said, he hid from her until after they had been married a year.

Tamara Heins testified that their relationship was punctuated with violent arguments and frequent separations.

In one fit of anger, she testified that her husband beat the family dog to death.

Heins could have faced life in prison had she been convicted.