It has been nine months of evidence, 11 days of deliberations but still a jury in the murder trial of Robert Xie has been unable to reach a verdict.
Now the 51-year-old is slated to face a fourth trial next year over the murder of five members of the Lin family.
Robert Xie cried silently in the dock as the foreman of the 12 jurors informed Justice Elizabeth Fullerton that - despite days in which they were sequestered overnight at a Sydney hotel - they remained at a stalemate.
There was no possibility of reaching a unanimous or majority verdict, they said.
'Not a collective failure of jury'
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Xie's wife Kathy Lin, who steadfastly supported him throughout his trials, wept as Justice Fullerton indicated she would be discharging them.
In doing so, she told the jurors she was confident they had worked tirelessly to come to a decision.
"(You) should not take it as a personal failure of any of you or a collective failure," she said on Tuesday.
It comes after two days of the jury indicating it had reached an impasse.
This prompted Justice Fullerton to give a majority direction on Monday, paving the way for the jury to be split 11 to one.
But on Tuesday it was clear even that was not sufficient.
DPP to push for retrial
After the jury was discharged, crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC told the court the DPP would proceed to trial at the earliest opportunity.
Justice Fullerton indicated she would preside over the matter, slating it for early next year.
Xie indicated he will be making an application for bail in coming days.
Defence barrister Graham Turnbull SC dismissed the three motives put forward by the crown.
These were an alleged loss of face with the parents-in-law favouring Min; a financial interest in Min's assets; and a sexual interest in a female connected to the family.
