The trial of two people accused of trying to extort John Travolta following the death of his son in the Bahamas has ended in a mistrial after a lawmaker suggested the still-deliberating jury had acquitted one of the defendants. Senior Justice Anita Allen said she was reluctantly ordering a new trial “in the interest of justice” because the politician's statement, in a speech broadcast on television and radio, gave the appearance of an improper leak from the jury room. “The dilemma that we face is great,” Allen told the court. “I am erring on the side of caution. Justice must be transparent.” Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne and his attorney, politician Pleasant Bridgewater, were accused of threatening to release private information about the January death of Travolta's 16-year-old son Jett at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama. Lightbourne, who was among the medics who treated Jett, allegedly sought $25 million from the actor with the assistance of Bridgewater, who resigned her seat in the Bahamas Senate after she was charged in the case.
