Houston man found guilty for second time in teacher's murder
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man has been found guilty for the second time of murdering an elementary school teacher in 2010.
It took two hours Friday for jurors to convict Raul Rodriguez, who videotaped himself shooting and killing elementary school teacher Kelly Danaher during a party. He called it self-defense.
Back in 2012, Rodriguez was convicted in Danaher's murder. But after serving just two years of his 40-year sentence, an appeals court decided he deserved a new trial because of confusing jury instructions. So Rodriguez went back on trial.
"He's struggling. I mean, it's difficult when you're in a position where you believe you're falsely accused of something and you've gone through this ordeal," said defense attorney Kyle Sampson.
In his first trial, Rodriguez's wife defended him.
Now, they're divorced and on Thursday she testified against him, saying he was upset about the loud music coming from their neighbor's home. She says her ex-husband paced around their home for hours, then walked out with a gun, flashlight, and video cameras.
"I was upset. I couldn't imagine what had gone on," Donna Malone said on the stand. "I asked the deputy what was going on. He told me there had been a shooting. I asked, 'Where is my husband?'"
Danaher's wife, Mindy, was too distraught to even look at her husband's autopsy photo. She has kept her deceased husband's last name.
"The wind got sucked out of me. Everything just went out. I don't know if I fainted or what but I just dropped," she testified about her husband's death.
Rodriguez didn't take the stand in his own defense.
The sentencing phase is next.
