After the court declared a mistrial in his September trial for a March 28, 2010 murder, Richard Demello this week pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Court records show Demello will serve 44 to 62 months for the murder of Michael Wayne Davis, who befriended him after the two met in prison.

Halifax County District Attorney Melissa Pelfrey could not be reached for immediate comment this morning.

Court records show Demello took the plea Tuesday.

“I don’t know why he took the plea,” Lieutenant Bobby Martin of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, who was the lead investigator in the case, said this morning. “When you take a plea that’s a sign of guilt. If he was retried he would not get the same jury pool.”

Despite having evidence that tied Demello to the crime scene and the getaway vehicle that had Davis’s blood inside it, the jury declared they reached an impasse.

Jurors sent Judge Alma Hinton a message saying they were at an impasse on finding Demello guilty of first-degree murder. Specifically, the note said 10 believed Demello was not guilty of first-degree murder while two believed he was guilty.

Jurors had the option of also finding him guilty of second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter. They could have also found him not guilty. The note said the two jurors believing in his guilt were immovable.

The note also said there were four jurors who believed Demello was guilty of first-degree kidnapping in the case involving the state’s key witness, Mary Moore. Four believed Demello was guilty of stealing Davis’s car after the murder.