A man convicted of stealing the remains of two Indian children from a gravesite has been acquitted of trying to murder the people who put him behind bars.

Jack Lee Harelson was accused of hiring a hit man to kill the judge and a state investigator involved in the grave-robbing case. The jury cleared him of these charges but deadlocked 6-6 on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and the two counts of solicitation to murder.

Harelson was convicted in 1996 of looting the Elephant Mountain Cave. He took two mummified remains of a young Indian boy and girl to "get the goodies," his ex-wife said at his trial.

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Robber Acquitted in Murder Plot (AP 10/28)
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