Disgraced News Corp Executive Found Not Guilty in Phone Hacking Case
Rebekah Brooks, the former News Corp executive and News of the World editor charged with hacking a murdered 13-year-old's cell phone, was found not guilty today. Andy Coulson, Brooks's lover and successor at News of the World, who later became David Cameron's communications director, was found guilty on one count of conspiring to intercept communications.
Jurors are still deliberating on two other charges against Coulson and a charge against former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman. The other defendants in the case, including Stuart Kuttner, the tabloid's former managing editor, were acquitted.
The trial lasted eight months, and centered around revelations that News of the World had listened in on the phone calls of figures in the news, including celebrities, crime victims, and the royal family. Brooks was charged with accessing the voicemail of Milly Dowler, a missing teenager who was later found dead, in 2002.
