Further complicating their case was that there were no witnesses who identified Barajas as the shooter and gunshot residue tests done on Barajas came back negative.
...prosecution witnesses told jurors during questioning by Cammack that more gunfire had taken place well after Banda was shot — pointing to the possibility that the actual shooter was still at large — and that a search of Barajas' home failed to find any evidence that directly or indirectly linked him to the crime scene.
Cammack also used 911 calls to create a timeline that suggested Barajas would not have had enough time to shoot Banda.
It sounds like the prosecution did not build a good case against the guy. He probably did kill the drunken child-murderer, but the it appears the 'state' failed to prove it.
...so yes, the jury did its job - without even having to resort to jury nullification.
It could be all officials from the cops to the DA “worked” together to ensure the father was treated fairly in light of this terrible tragedy.
It could also be the father didn’t actually shoot the drunken SOB.
Maybe the mother did.
Who knows?