RICHARDSON

WARWICK — Prosecutors and defense lawyers will meet today to set a new trial date for James Richardson, whose first trial for first-degree murder ended in a mistrial when a Superior Court jury was unable to reach a verdict.

Richardson, 40, of Cranston, is accused of fatally stabbing Margaret Duffy-Stephenson, 37, in her home and stealing $11,000 from a locked safe, in November 2005.

Duffy-Stephenson was a teacher’s aide for special-needs students in East Greenwich. Richardson worked for a landscaping business operated by her husband, James O. Stephenson III.

Lawyers from the Public Defender’s Office and the attorney general’s office will meet today at the Kent County Court House to decide on a trial date.

Beryl Kenyon, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, said the state remains confident in its case, despite the deadlock in the first trial.

“We believe that the evidence supports a guilty verdict for the defendant,” Kenyon said. “We hope the jury will agree.”

After a trial that lasted a month, the jury deliberated for 3½ days, considering testimony by more than 20 witnesses and scores of pieces of evidence. On June 27, the jurors told Judge Francis Darigan that they could not agree on a verdict on the charges of first-degree murder — which requires premeditation — and burglary.

Richardson is being held without bail at the Adult Corrections Institutions.

Duffy-Stephenson’s father, John Duffy, came to her Blackmore Street home on Nov. 18, 2005, and found her dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs. She had sustained 11 stab wounds in a savage attack.

Duffy-Stephenson had returned home alone a few days earlier from a family wedding in Fort Lauderdale. Her husband and the couple’s 3-year-old son, Robert, had stayed in Florida to visit with relatives.

Richardson was arrested the following month.

tbuford@projo.com