Judge Bob Hardwick ordered a new trial for Curtis Lovelace — the former University football player who was charged with the murder of his wife in 2014 — after jurors could not reach a verdict, the Chicago Tribune reported. A retrial is set for May 31.JT

Lovelace was a member of the Illini football team, starting as center for three-years and even serving as team captain.JT

Lovelace, who previously served as a prosecutor and defense lawyer in QuincyJT, is facing a first degree murder charge for the death of his wife, Cory Lovelace, who died on February 14, 2006.

According to a report from the Associate Press, Lovelace was not charged until 2014 when a Quincy detective decided to revisit the case.

When Cory died in 2006, Lovelace told police he found her dead after returning from dropping three of their four children off at school. He said she had “flu-like” symptoms for several days but an investigator said Lovelace never called 911 or attempted to resuscitate his wife, the Associated Press reported.JT

An initial autopsy was inconclusive in determining Cory’s cause of death but subsequent pathology tests and photographic evidence later revealed she died from suffocation.JT

A special state prosecutor handled the case because of Lovelace’s seven-year term as an assistant county prosecutor in Adams County. Deliberation of the case began on Thursday but on Friday afternoon the jury foreman said they could not come to a decision, the Tribune reported.JT

Two of Lovelace’s children testified that they saw their mother alive on the morning of Valentine’s Day 2006, the day she was found dead. Their testimony diffused the state’s theory that Lovelace used a pillow to suffocate his wife in her sleep, the Tribune reported.

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