Jury affirms not guilty verdict in trial of Cayce doctor charged in shooting
A Lexington County jury found a Cayce doctor innocent of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a medical equipment salesman Thursday after a stunning twist in which a juror changed her original verdict of not guilty — only to change it back minutes later.
The 12 jurors heard seven days of testimony in the trial of Adam Lazzarini, a former Lexington Medical Center surgeon who was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 30-year-old William Player Holland. Holland worked for a medical equipment company that was selling Lazzarini equipment.
The jury was made up of four women and eight men.
Judge Debra McCaslin thanked the jurors and told them “the lawyers on both sides are probably the best South Carolina has to offer.”
Some family and friends of Holland cried after the verdict was read.
Lazzarini’s defense said they were relieved with the decision.
“My heart goes out to the Hollands,” defense attorney Jack Swerling said. “But I’m so pleased and relieved for Dr. Lazzarini’s family. I never thought he did anything wrong.”
The verdict announcement had unexpected drama. Initially, the jury told the court it had found Lazzarini not guilty. But after prosecutors asked that the jurors be polled individually, one woman said she had changed her mind. That brought gasps from the gallery.
McCaslin sent the jury back to deliberate more. After about 10 minutes, the jury returned with another not guilty verdict. Jurors were polled again, and all 12 affirmed the verdict.
The prosecution and defense gave closing arguments Thursday.
Prosecutors Shawn Graham and Luke Pincelli of the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office elicited testimony to push an argument that Lazzarini was drinking and negligent with guns the day of the shooting and that the doctor tried to cover up the fact that he shot Holland. Lazzarini was the trigger puller, the prosecution wanted the jury to believe.
Lazzarini’s attorneys — Jack Swerling, Greg Harris and Alissa Wilson — wanted the jury to believe the shooting was a tragic accident and that Lazzarini was so distraught and confused about the moment the gun fired that he couldn’t recall the details. That’s why Lazzarini’s story about what happened changed, defense attorneys said.
Lazzarini’s defense argued that the jurors should have reasonable doubt about whether the doctor was guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
The timeline of what happened the day Holland was killed wasn’t disputed.
Lazzarini and Holland had spent Oct. 9, 2017, together. They were supposed to see a medical operation in Georgia, but it was canceled. They flew back to South Carolina and had lunch and drinks at a Columbia restaurant. They drove to Lazzarini’s home where his wife was fixing dinner. Holland and Lazzarini went to an upstairs room, where they looked at his gun collection, and that’s when Holland was shot.
Prosecutors had witnesses testify that Lazzarini told them three different versions of what happened. One of those witnesses told the jurors that Lazzarini said “I killed my best friend.” In a video shown to the jury, Lazzarini’s 5-year-old daughter said she was in the room when her father had the gun in his hand and shot Holland. A blood splatter expert testified that it was “possible but not probable” that Holland shot himself.
The defense did not call anyone to the stand, but tried to break down the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses or get them to admit to circumstances of the shooting favorable to Lazzarini. Sowing reasonable doubt about whether the shooting rose to the specifics of involuntary manslaughter was crucial to the defense’s strategy.
The defense argued that Holland picked up a loaded weapon when Lazzarini was out of the room and handed it to Lazzarini when he returned without him knowing it was loaded. That was when the gun went off. Holland had some culpability in his shooting, the defense argued.
The trial lasted nine days, including a day for jury selection and a day for closing arguments.
Lazzarini still faces a pending civil lawsuit by Holland family.
Check back for the latest in the trial. This story will be updated
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 7:46 PM.