case of a man accused of a murder that occurred 26 years ago remained unresolved yesterday after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict ! Despite 21 hours deliberations over the past four days, the three men and nine women of the jury failed to agree on the guilt or otherwise of Frank Abbott, who had pleaded not guilty to the murder of 17-year-old Helen Mary Harrison in 1968. The three-week trial of Abbott, 53, who is the caretaker of a property near Taree, is believed to be the first to be held so long after the murder it concerned. Miss Harrison, who was a sales assistant at Miller's general store at Pitt Town, near Windsor, disappeared on March 16, 1968, while riding home on her bicycle. Her body was found in a shallow grave in bushland near East Kurrajong, north of Richmond. The Crown alleged during the trial that Abbott had admitted to three people that he had murdered the girl but that they had not told anyone until years later because Abbott had threatened them.
