UPDATE (7 PM)-- Mark Sievers appeared to become emotional while the judge excused the jury.
#BREAKING: jury finds Mark Sievers GUILTY OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
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UPDATE (6:30 PM)-- A jury has found Mark Sievers guilty of First Degree Murder.
In tears, Teresa Sievers’s family and friends are exchanging hugs and kisses. Very emotional moment for them.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
The penalty phase will begin Tuesday, December 10.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
Judge Kyle says the will set a court date for the next phase of the trial.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
UPDATE (2:15 PM) -- Closing arguments are completed, and Judge Bruce Kyle has read the jury instructions.
The jury has been sent to the jury room to begin deliberations.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
The two alternates were sent home but remain on standby if this case goes to the penalty phase.
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UPDATE (1:15 PM) -- The state is now on rebuttal of closing arguments.
"But for Mark Sievers, Teresa Sievers would have not been found dead on her kitchen floor," said Assist. State Attorney Cynthia Ross.
The state and defense say they will each need a day if this goes to the penalty phase.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
Sequestration for the penalty phase is still a possibility.
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UPDATE (11:30 AM) -- Defense attorney Michael Mummert has begun the defense's closing arguments.
Mummert is explaining to the jury what they should consider when it comes to witnesses testimonies while deliberating.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
Mummert says Rodgers's former girlfriend, Taylor Shoemaker, has received thousands of dollars to help detectives and said detectives threatened her during the investigation.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
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UPDATE (10:45 AM) -- The state's closing arguments are complete, after speaking for just over an hour. After a brief recess, the defense will have its turn.
Hunter is explaining to the jurors that it is their job to listen to the evidence and 'put the pieces together of the puzzle' to decide if the defendant is guilty.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
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UPDATE (9:35 AM) -- The state is beginning its closing arguments.
"I'm not going to say we reached the end of our journey because we still have a long way to go," said Hamid Hunter. Hunter says this is just the guilt phase.
Hunter says evidence shows Mark Sievers hired his best friend, Curtis Wright, to kill his wife Teresa Sievers.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Mark Sievers is not taking the stand in his murder trial for the death of his wife, Dr. Teresa Sievers.
Judge Kyle asked Mark if he was opting to defend himself on the stand, reminding him that the decision is solely his. Sievers opted to not testify.
Sievers is accused of hiring two men to kill his wife Teresa Sievers in their Bonita Springs home in 2015.
The court is proceeding with preparations for closing arguments.
Before bringing out the jurors for closing arguments, defense attorney Michael Mummert argued for a motion of judgment of acquittal.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 4, 2019
Judge Kyle denied the motion.
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