In June, a witness had a stroke on the stand and later died. Last week, another was led from the courtroom in handcuffs after potentially perjuring himself.

In between in the homicide trial of Joseph Hall and Lamont Hall, who are not related, there were two mistrials and another possible perjury case against a Pittsburgh police detective.

Yesterday, as if the case needed another twist, the jury provided one with a split verdict.

After more than a day of deliberation, jurors found Joseph Hall, 19, of Penn Hills, guilty of third-degree murder but acquitted Lamont Hall, 20, of East Liberty, of homicide charges and convicted him of illegal possession of a gun.

The men had been charged with killing 17-year-old James Stubbs in a drive-by shooting in Homewood.

Since that day, Dec. 20, 2006, Nancy Zanders-Stubbs, Mr. Stubbs' mother, said she has had three strokes. Plagued by tremors and slurred speech, she spoke briefly after a verdict that fell short of providing closure.

"I feel OK," she said. "But he should have gotten life."

Standing a few paces down the hallway, Cecilia Coleman, Joseph Hall's mother, said they might as well have given her son life. Hearing that a third-degree conviction will carry a maximum of 20 to 40 years in prison provided little solace.

She forcefully proclaimed her son's innocence, attacking the prosecution's case to anyone who would listen.

"They had no evidence," said Ms. Coleman. "Don't it seem like some injustice? Something's not right."

Though it left many dissatisfied, the verdict concluded quite a saga.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman declared mistrials after school police Cmdr. Joseph Garrett had a stroke on the stand and when a witness was unavailable for a second trial in August.

Then in an evidentiary hearing, city police Detective Talib Kevin Ghafoor, who returned yesterday to provide support for Joseph Hall's family, contradicted himself on the stand and later resigned under investigation for perjury.

Once the trial began in earnest, Daniel Fitzsimmons, chief trial deputy for the district attorney, relied heavily on the alleged driver to build his case, but 21-year-old Allen Strothers put on a show from the witness stand.

Repeatedly claiming he was "coached" by detectives, Mr. Strothers recanted the story he had told under oath in a preliminary hearing and before a grand jury.

Often testy and defiant toward Mr. Fitzsimmons and Judge Cashman, Mr. Strothers said he was with Lamont Hall that afternoon but only saw Joseph Hall later. Mr. Strothers said he sped away from the scene when he saw gunfire.

After he finished testifying -- and after the jury had left the courtroom -- Mr. Strothers was found in contempt of court by Judge Cashman and taken to Allegheny County Jail. He, too, could face perjury charges.

The jurors put more weight on his earlier testimony and tape-recorded statements to detectives in which he said both Halls had fired from his car, but Lamont Hall only fired into the air. Mr. Strothers told detectives that Joseph Hall even did celebratory pushups when he heard Mr. Stubbs had been killed.

In an interview after the verdict, juror Brandon Holden, of Monroeville, laughed when the subject of Mr. Strothers was brought up. He said jurors believed Mr. Strothers' first story because he identified the type of gun used, and a school police officer said he saw Joseph Hall near the scene that day.

Mr. Holden said he was satisfied "seeing [Mr. Strothers] go down for perjury."

As for finding Lamont Hall guilty of only the gun charge, Mr. Holden said, "There was simply nothing to back up some of the heftier charges against Lamont."

Ms. Coleman claimed the same could be said for Joseph. She noted that prosecutors found no physical evidence at the scene or in Mr. Strothers' car to implicate the Halls, and lamented a guilty verdict that rested so much on one inconsistent witness.

Mr. Fitzsimmons, meanwhile, said he was satisfied with the verdict, adding, in summation, "It was a difficult case."