ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) - A southern Utah man has been found guilty of murder in the death of a woman whose throat was cut during a night of violence that left two women dead.
The Spectrum newspaper of St. George reports the jury reached the verdict Friday in the case of 35-year-old Brandon Perry Smith.
Smith was convicted in the death of 20-year-old Jerrica Christensen, who was killed while helping acquaintances move out of a St. George townhome in 2010.
Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty, but dropped it so the case could move more quickly.
Smith’s lawyers said he was manipulated by a friend who was later convicted in the death of 27-year-old Brandie Sue Dawn Jerden. A man was also shot that night but survived.
Smith’s sentencing was set for April 5.
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