New trial set after jury deadlocks in ‘kitty litter’ murder case

By Neil Protacio

A new trial was ordered in the killing of a PCC alumna when a jury could not reach a verdict after nine days of deliberation in the dramatic case of an ex-PCC student accused of murder.

A pre-trial hearing for Isaac Campbell is scheduled in January after the jury voted 10 guilty and two not guilty on a second-degree murder charge, officials said. Campbell, a former student, is charged in the 2007 killing of Liya “Jessie”Lu, who also attended the college. Her decomposed body was found covered with kitty litter in a trash can in Arcadia a month after she was reported missing.

EDITORIAL: Ex-student’s murder trial reveals tragedy

The slaying of PCC alumna Liya “Jessie” Lu is one of the most horrible tragedies to ever hit the PCC community. Her death in itself is bad enough, but the treatment she received after death, as revealed in testimony at the trial of Isaac Campbell, accused of murder, is completely unimaginable.

No matter what the eventual outcome for Campbell, nothing can compare to the anguish and sadness that Lu’s family must now endure.