Anna Maria Sacco sat with her head bowed in Court No 2 as she awaited the verdict which could have condemned her to life imprisonment. Her parents, Lorna and Luigi, sat on the bench behind, their hands clenched tightly.
When the jury announced that it had failed to agree a verdict, Anna Maria relaxed slightly and glanced over her shoulder at her mother and father. Luigi Sacco let out a sigh of relief and pulled his daughter towards him. His wife wiped the tears from her eyes, the strain of the three-week trial clearly visible on her face.
In the back of the courtroom, Franco Sacco's sister, Antoinette, also wept. The young Italian woman had attended throughout the trial, sitting apart from the rest of the Sacco family, to whom she is related by birth.
Shortly before the jury was recalled at 5.27 p.m. on Saturday, an outwardly calm Anna Maria said that she was feeling nervous but "hoping for the best". Her uppermost thoughts, she said, were for her six-month-old baby daughter, Francesca. "I know the baby will be looked after, my parents have her, but I'll miss her if I'm sent to prison. That's the worst part", she said.
Dressed casually in black jeans and a jumper, the petite 22-yearold had passed away the hours reading a Patricia Cornwell novel, occasionally chatting to her two sisters, Louisa and Catriona, her half-brother, Daniel, and other family members.
At 2 p.m. Mr Justice O'Higgins told the jury that a majority decision was acceptable, as a lengthy time had already been spent on consideration of the verdict.
As the afternoon dragged on, with no sign of a verdict, there were rumours of a disagreement among the seven men and five women on the jury.
"I'm hoping to be acquitted, but I think it will be a hung jury", Anna Maria predicted. Luigi Sacco hugged his daughter. "As long as the result is right and my little girl comes home with us, that's all I'm asking", he said.
A little over 3 1/2 hours later, Luigi Sacco got his wish. Mr Justice O'Higgins told the jury that they should not reproach themselves for failing to return a verdict. "It has been a difficult case, and a very distressing case. I'm sure you are all feeling the strain", he said.
He remanded Anna Maria Sacco on continuing bail to June 25th.
Anna Maria looked tense as she pushed her way through the throng of reporters, but she regained her composure long enough to pose for photographs with her smiling parents on the steps of the Four Courts. When asked how the family would face up to the prospect of a second trial, Luigi Sacco said: "I would be a lot happier if we had got number one. We didn't get it, we will have to get it the next day. I know she is innocent."
The dead man's sister, Antoinette Sacco, slipped from the court almost unnoticed and in tears.