‘Breakdown’ S06, Ep. 4: Deliberation

Surveillance video captures two men as the approach a Pontiac Bonneville at a Valero station in northwest Atlanta in April 2016. The man on the right was Quincy Wytche, who would be shot dead a few minutes later. On the left, police say, is Nicholas Benton, who was later charged with killing Wytche and a second man.

Surveillance video captures two men as the approach a Pontiac Bonneville at a Valero station in northwest Atlanta in April 2016. The man on the right was Quincy Wytche, who would be shot dead a few minutes later. On the left, police say, is Nicholas Benton, who was later charged with killing Wytche and a second man.

Double-murder defendant Nicholas Benton declines to testify in his own defense, much to the disappointment of several jurors. The attorneys offer closing arguments and then Benton’s case goes to the jury.

The fourth episode of the podcast “Breakdown: A Jury of His Peers,” narrated by AJC Editor Kevin Riley and legal affairs writer Bill Rankin, will go live early Monday. It’s a jury’s-eye view of the Benton murder trial, with Riley as a member of the jury.

» Previous episodes and seasons of 'Breakdown'

» Photos: Images from Season 6 of 'Breakdown'

Police say Benton got into the back seat of a car parked at a Burger King is northwest Atlanta to transact a drug deal. Almost immediately, a witness testified, he began firing with a handgun. Reginald Coicou, sitting directly in front of Benton, was shot six times and died in his seat. The state says Benton then shot and killed his own friend, Quincy “Fat” Wytche, who was also sitting in the back seat. Wytche was dead in minutes.

» Join the 'Breakdown' Facebook group

Now that the case is theirs, the jurors face some difficult choices. No single thing clearly makes Benton guilty or not guilty.

Some jurors found the testimony of witness Carlton Redding less than believable.

Credit: Atlanta Police Department

icon to expand image

Credit: Atlanta Police Department

The state has no murder weapon, no getaway car, no fingerprints and no DNA. It does have video from two locations, one that shows a man who could be the killer, and one that only shows the car in which the shootings took place.

“We should have more evidence,” juror Sangita Patel tells Riley in an interview after the trial. “There was no gun and no car, and the car cannot disappear into thin air.”

She’s referring to the car that the killer drove away from the Burger King after the shootings. She later adds, “All we have is a bullet but no gun. The evidence was not given that it was handled by him. His fingerprints were nowhere to be found.”

You can listen to “Breakdown” on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting platform, or you can stream it directly right here, right now.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Join the Breakdown Podcast Facebook groupfor more AJC coverage and behind-the-scenes looks at previous Breakdown seasons.

Read the judge’s instructions to the jury here: