Brittany Navarra's fate will soon be in the hands of a jury
MODESTO, Calif. (KFSN) -- More than six years after a crime that stunned the community of Madera, the fate of a murder suspect will soon be in the hands of a jury.
Attorneys began giving their closing arguments in the trial of Brittany Navarra. Investigators believe she planned the murder of Krista Pike in January of 2008.
Dustin Gran was sentenced to life in prison for carrying out the killing earlier this year.
This photo of Brittany Navarra is the only image allowed from inside the courtroom Tuesday. But attorneys painted two very different pictures of the young murder suspect for the jury.
The deputy district attorney described her as a jealous girl who wanted Krista Pike dead -- so she could be with Pike's fianc. He read text messages from Navarra's phone the day of the murder telling Dustin Gran how to carry out the crime.
The prosecutor said Pike was lying on the couch in a Madera home making a grocery list when Gran brutally attacked her from behind -- hitting her in the head with a dumbbell and slashing her with a knife.
Former juror Jim Patton said, "It was sad that people that young could absolutely sit and discuss how to kill another person basically their same age, I found that very difficult to wrap around."
Patton was one of the jurors who convicted Gran back in March. They're now keeping tabs on Navarra's trial.
Former juror Anna Webb said, "Just to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together because we heard so much on one end and didn't hear the full story and such a sad case we wanted to hear the rest."
The defense attorney says there's still much more to the story. He told the jury he'll show in his closing argument that two other people were involved in the murder. He claims Navarra only confessed to protect them because she was a minor and was not expecting to face a serious punishment.
Patton added, "These folks, this jury has a hard decision to make."
This trial has already been underway for about a month. The defense attorney is scheduled to finish his closing argument Wednesday, and then the jury will begin deliberating.
