A juror who vanished during the corruption trial of the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate told the judge she lied about her father dying and flew to California for a horse race, the Associated Press reported.
Sen. Ted Stevens' guilty verdict, coming barely a week before Tuesday's Election Day, increased his difficulty in winning what already was a difficult race in Alaska against
Democratic challenger Mark Begich.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered Marian Hinnant to return to court to explain why she disappeared during jury deliberations.
Hinnant brought a stack of handwritten notes with her to the court Monday along with public defender A.J. Kramer, and told the judge that her father had not died and she was at the Breeders' Cup in California.