Jury returns not-guilty verdict in Dixon County mock domestic-assault trial

A Dixon County jury returned a verdict of not guilty for defendant Kyle Busch after a mock trial in the 23rd Judicial District that included testimony from the alleged victim, surveillance images and forensic evidence.

The state called Charlotte Richards, who testified she was assaulted by her boyfriend on an evening the two were at Dixon Sports Bar and later while she was driving home. "I was assaulted by my boyfriend," Richards said on the stand. She described hair being pulled and being struck in the face during the drive and said she later heard gunfire outside the Dixon County Sheriff's Administrative Building. Richards testified she received texts as she drove to the station — including, she said, messages that read, "answer the phone" and "I know you turned the Life 360 off" — and that the defendant followed with a photo of a black Glock. Richards told jurors, "I was terrified. I mean, I feel like he was threatening to use it on me if I spoke to the police." (First reference to Charlotte Richards: Charlotte Richards, victim and witness, 00:10:47.)

Why the jury returned not guilty: The prosecution highlighted forensic links between the gun and…