Ana Trujillo from Houston was convicted of murder Tuesday for fatally stabbing her boyfriend with the 5 1/2-inch stiletto heel of her shoe, hitting him at least 25 times in the face, according to Reuters.
Prosecutors said Trujillo used her high heel shoe to kill 59-year-old Alf Stefan Andersson during an argument at his Houston condominium in June, Reuters reported. The jury will begin hearing evidence in the trial's punishment phase Wednesday.
Jack Carroll, Trujillo's attorney, had argued the 45-year-old woman was defending herself during an attack by Andersson, who was a University of Houston professor and researcher, according to Reuters.
Trujillo will now face up to life in prison and showed little emotional reaction when the jury verdict was read, Reuters reported. She had been out of jail on bond but was taken into custody after the guilty verdict.
Trujillo's attorney, said he was disappointed with the verdict and Trujillo was "taking it a little hard but she's pretty tough," according to Reuters.
"I'm hoping that they will be merciful in the punishment," Carroll said, adding he will be asking for a prison sentence of two years, Reuters reported. Prosecutors declined to comment on the case until after a sentence is announced.
Prosecutors told jurors that after a night of drinking, the couple began arguing and during the confrontation, Andersson was injured and fell on his back, Reuters reported. Trujillo sat on Andersson, preventing him from getting up and repeatedly struck him in the face and head with her shoe, they said.
"This is not self-defense. This is a vicious murder," prosecutor John Jordan told jurors during closing arguments earlier Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Jordan told jurors that Trujillo had a history of violence, reminding them of testimony by two witnesses who said Trujillo had attacked them two weeks before Andersson's death, Reuters reported.
James Wells, who had been romantically involved with Trujillo in the past, testified that in an unprovoked attack, Trujillo bit him on his head, pulled skin from his skull, and then told him, "You're a dead man," according to Reuters.
During witness testimony, prosecutors highlighted that Trujillo did not have any injuries from her confrontation with Andersson while the researcher had defensive wounds on his hands and wrists, Reuters reported.
