Two mistrials in one case is, to say the least, unusual, but it happened in the capital murder trial of a Coleman County man accused in the death of his 15-month-old foster daughter.

Charles Yarbrough, 24, was convicted Friday of injury to a child by reckless conduct in the death of Lacey Lynn Nichols, who died from blunt force trauma to the head on Jan. 9, 2006.

The original indictment included two counts -- the first for capital murder and a second for murder.

Friday, the eight-woman, four-man jury convicted him of the lesser charge in the first count, but failed to reach a decision on the murder charge (second count), so a mistrial was declared.

But when a second mistrial was declared in the punishment phase of the trial Monday, even more confusion began surrounding the case.

Yarbrough was facing two to 20 years in prison on the reckless injury to a child conviction. A prison sentence of 10 years or less could have been probated by the jury.

"It is fairly unusual for the jury to not reach a verdict on the punishment," said Frederick Moss, associate professor of law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "I think the only options are to retry Yarbrough on the punishment issue or for the DA and the defense to reach an agreement as to the punishment, withdraw the request for the jury to punish, and put the punishment agreement before the judge."

The likely conclusion will be to retry the punishment phase of the case, said 42nd District Judge John Weeks, who presided over the trial.

"Up until the last legislative session, if we had a mistrial in the punishment phase, we would be required to retry the entire case," Weeks explained. "But now we have the option to just retry the punishment phase."

If that happens, each side will be required to present a short version of what happened during the first trial. Then the jury would deliberate the punishment.

The prosecution and defense also could reach a plea bargain and present that to the judge for his approval to avoid another trial. But no decisions on how the case will proceed have been made.

Weeks said that "theoretically" Yarbrough also could be retried on the murder charge -- the second count of the indictment for which the jury became deadlocked.

Coleman County District Attorney Joe Lee Rose said he isn't sure what direction the case will take.

"There are so many factors involved in every decision," Rose said. "This will require a lot of research on our part."

Following the mistrial Monday, defense attorney Bob McCool said he hoped the matter could be resolved without another trial.

Meanwhile, Yarbrough is not in custody while Rose decides whether to retry him. Sheriff Wade Turner said Yarbrough was arrested and charged with murder on Jan. 18, 2006, and released on a $100,000 bond the following day.

Weeks would not comment on whether the bond will be recalled.

If a decision to retry the case is not made by Jan. 1, the case could be turned over to Coleman County Attorney Heath Hemphill, who defeated Rose for the district attorney's position in the March election.