A District Court jury took less than an hour this morning to find Justin Thurber guilty of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the brutal murder of Ark City teen Jodi Sanderholm in January 2007.
The jury will return at 9 a.m. Monday to begin the penalty phase of the proceeding. Jurors will debate whether the 25-year-old Ark City man should be given the death penalty.
The case was handed to the jury Wednesday afternoon Jurors deliberated about two and one-half hours before being sent home for the evening. They reported back at 9 a.m. Thursday morning. At 9:53 a.m. there was an announcement that the jury had a verdict.
Once jurors were back in the courtroom, the jury foreman handed the decision to bailiff Kim Woods who passed it on to Judge Jim Pringle to review before she announced the findings.
Thurber sat between his two defense attorneys and talked silently with them while waiting to hear his fate. He showed little emotion when he heard the verdict.
