Death penalty phase next in Arizona murder case
By JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press | |
Associated Press |
The jury took more than five days to reach the first-degree murder verdict against
Prosecutors say Devault killed
A hearing will begin Wednesday to establish whether there were "aggravating factors" in the case, which will determine whether Devault is eligible for a death sentence.
Devault sat facing the jury and remained expressionless as the verdict was read during a brief hearing in
"This was the verdict I was hoping for," said
The case had many salacious elements, including testimony about plots to hire a hit man and the fact that Devault was a former stripper who met her boyfriend on a sugar-daddy dating website. But the judge in the case made extensive efforts to keep the trial from becoming the spectacle that enveloped the
He warned the attorneys involved that he did not want any Arias trial fanatics on the jury, and he tried to keep certain sensational elements out of the trial. Devault's past as a stripper, for instance, was barely mentioned during the trial. The case attracted nowhere near the attention of the Arias trial despite some similar circumstances.
Arias was spared the death penalty after her jury was deadlocked in the penalty phase of her trial.
Like Arias, Devault maintains she killed in self-defense and told investigators that her husband had physically and sexually abused her in the past.
But prosecutors contend the attack on Harrell was premeditated and say Devault gave conflicting accounts of her husband's death. Harrell, 34, suffered multiple skull fractures in the
Dewey said she and Devault met while they attended the same community college, but that their friendship soured when Devault made abusive comments toward her. She said she had concerns about the chances for a first-degree murder verdict as jury deliberations entered their sixth day.
"I felt like they (prosecutors) did a good job of proving her guilty and the premeditation," Dewey said.
Devault initially told investigators that her husband attacked her while she was asleep and choked her until she was unconscious. She also told police that when she woke up, she saw another man who lived at their home beating Harrell with a hammer.
But authorities say bloodstain patterns showed Harrell was alone in the bed at the time of the attack and that bloodstains on Devault's clothes were consistent with a person swinging an object repeatedly over his or her head.
Investigators say Devault later confessed to attacking her husband, saying she pummeled him in a rage as he slept after he sexually assaulted her.
The key prosecution witness was Devault's former boyfriend,
Flores testified that Devault wanted to either hire someone to kill Harrell, or kill him herself and tell police he tried to rape her after a night of drinking.
Devault's attorneys attacked Flores' credibility, noting he was given an immunity agreement on child-pornography allegations in exchange for his testimony. The child pornography was found on Flores' computer during a search that was part of the murder investigation, authorities said.
Flores also testified that he once feared Devault would harm him, but he said that concern lifted after she was arrested. He said he went on to bail her out of jail, get her a lawyer and resume their intimate relationship.
Copyright: | Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
Wordcount: | 778 |
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News