It took more than five years for the case against Dustin Gran to reach trial, but just one day for the jury to reach its verdict. On Friday afternoon, Gran was found guilty of all charges in connection with the murder of Krista Pike.
Pike was 18 years old when she was killed back in 2008 in Madera. Investigators say Gran killed her at the request of another girl. The case got so much attention that the trial had to be moved from Madera to Modesto.
Prosecutors said during closing arguments that Gran hit Pike in the head with a dumbbell and called the girl's death an assassination. They say Gran was asked to commit the murder by Brittany Navarra, the scorned ex-girlfriend to Krista Pike's fiancé. Prosecutors also claimed text messages from Navarra's phone to Gran's on the day of the killing prove the conspiracy. One of them reportedly read "Go ahead. Kill her."
Navarra will have her own trial in May or possibly as late as August. Gran will be back in court next week for the sanity phase of his trial.
