NORTHAMPTON — The jury will enter a third day of deliberations in the rape trial of former Ware tow truck driver Arthur E. Salsbury Jr.
Salsbury, 42, is accused of raping a woman in Dufresne Park in Granby on Feb. 23, 2018.
His jury trial in Hampshire Superior Court is on two counts of aggravated rape and a single count of kidnapping.
Salsbury’s accuser has testified that she got into a car with Salsbury in Holyoke when she thought he was a man she had talked to on the dating website Tinder and discussed sex for money.
The woman has said that when she became alarmed, she asked to be taken home. She alleges that Salsbury took her to the park instead and that he raped her. Salsbury’s accuser said that she then fled into and hid in a nearby swamp before seeking help at a house bordering the park.
The Gazette does not typically identify victims of rape or sexual assault.
David Mintz, Salsbury’s attorney, has presented the theory that what happened in the park was consensual sex for money followed by an argument, after which Salsbury left the accuser and she invented the rape accusation.
The jury began deliberating on Friday following closing arguments, and did not reach a verdict that day. The jury resumed deliberations on Tuesday, and near the end of its day sent out the message that it was deadlocked.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., Judge John Agostini sent the jury back to its deliberations, and the jury chose to deliberate until 4:30 p.m. The jury was then dismissed for the day, and will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
In 2018, Salsbury was indicted on charges related to the alleged rapes of five women. Charges related to three of the alleged victims have been dropped, while the commonwealth is moving forward with the other charges in two different trials.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.