Bill Cosby sex assault case ends in mistrial after jury fails to agree on verdict
A sex assault case against Bill Cosby has ended in an inconclusive verdict after jurors failed to agree whether the comedian is guilty.
Prosecutors have said they will bring a fresh trial after the judge halted the current case by declaring it a mistrial.
Jurors had deliberated for 53 hours but were unable to break a deadlock and return a unanimous verdict.
Cosby was accused of sexually assaulting his female friend Andrea Constand at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.
The case is the culmination of a tide of accusations against Cosby, who was once known as "America's dad".
More than 50 women have come forward in recent years to accuse Mr Cosby of rapes and sexual assaults said to date back to the 1960s.
Ms Constand's claim is the only one to reach court because the time limits on all the others have run out.
She had told jurors that the comedian attacked her after drugging her with pills he said would help her to "relax" during a dinner at his house in 2004.
Mr Cosby chose not to give evidence on the stand but has denied the claims, saying any sexual contact between the two was consensual.
The jury appeared unable to agree on which version of the night in question to believe, and had asked to hear hear large sections of testimony from the records as they struggled to reach agreement.
The end of the case in an inconclusive verdict was a victory for the comedian, who faced up to a decade in prison if found guilty.
It was a blow to the dozens of women who have said they were sexually assaulted by Cosby.
Several accusers were in court all week awaiting a verdict and wearing buttons that read "We Stand in Truth."