Thirty-two-year-old Jodi Arias was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday for killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.
People inside and outside the Arizona courthouse cheered as the jury read the verdict after about 15 hours of deliberation.
Now that jurors have convicted Arias of first-degree murder, they will decide whether to sentence her to death.
Crowd members pumped their fists and shouted "Justice for Travis" outside the courthouse after the verdict was read.
Here's an image of the crowd, courtesy of ABC 15:
Arias claimed she killed Alexander in his Mesa, Ariz., home because he attacked her first. She stabbed him nearly 30 times, shot him in the head, and slit his throat ear to ear.
Arias, a Mormon convert who got caught lying to investigators, has been dubbed the "Mormon Casey Anthony." During the televised trial, details of her sex life with Alexander emerged and created a huge spectacle that inspired Lifetime TV to cast a movie based on Arias before the verdict even came down.
In order to convict Arias of first-degree murder, the jurors had to find that she either planned the crime or was committing another felony when she killed him. It's possible that some jurors thought that she planned the crime and others thought she was committing a felony by being in his home against his will.
Jurors could have convicted her of second-degree murder — a crime that carries a 25-year prison sentence — if they found she meant to kill him but didn't plan on it.
They also could have convicted her of manslaughter, which would mean she was reckless but didn't intend on killing Alexander.
Please follow Law & Order on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
     |