Mistrial granted in trial of Harvard graduate student

(Globe file photo)

Alexander Pring-Wilson will be allowed to return to his home state of Colorado, a judge ruled today after declaring a mistrial.

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE -- A judge granted a mistrial this afternoon in the second trial of a former Harvard graduate student accused of manslaughter in the killing of a teenager after a jury deliberated 10 days without reaching a verdict.

The jury came back in a Middlesex Superior Court this afternoon and told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked in the case of Alexander Pring-Wilson, 29. He was accused of manslaughter in the stabbing death of Michael Colono, 18, during a drunken, late-night fight on a Cambridge street on April 12, 2003.

The jury gave a note to Judge Christopher Muse that said they were "still deadlocked and do not believe we can come to a unanimous decision."

Pring-Wilson was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, but he won a new trial when the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled that jurors should have learned about Colono's criminal history, which included an alleged propensity for violence. Pring-Wilson has long maintained that he pulled a knife from his back pocket and stabbed Colono in self-defense.

The encounter brought together young men from two different worlds: Colono was a hotel cook and father, while Pring-Wilson, who is from Colorado Springs, Colo., was studying for his master's in Russian and Eurasian studies.

Colono's mother and sister left the courtroom with tears in their eyes and did not speak to reporters.

"We will honor the memory of Michael Colono by continuing to fight for justice on behalf of him, his family, and the Commonwealth," Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said in a statement. "We fully intend to retry this case."

At the request of the defense, the judge allowed Pring-Wilson to go back to Colorado from Dec. 23 to 29. It will be the first time he has returned to his home state since the stabbing because his bail had prohibited him from leaving Massachusetts. Pring-Wilson left the courtroom without comment. His mother, Cynthia Pring, also refused to speak to reporters.

“No,” Pring said. “We got another trial.”

Defense attorney E. Peter Parker said his client is ready. "Everybody is in this for the long haul," Parker said. "We are ready to do it until we can walk him out of here once and for all."

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