Erends guilty of first-degree murder

Roseville – Whether or not Stephanie Nicole Erends killed her friend was never in doubt.The question was: Did she plan it?On Wednesday, jurors issued their answer.After two days of deliberations, eight women and four men told a judge that Erends, 26, is guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of her friend, 24-year-old Alicia Ernst. And they found her guilty of a special allegation alleging Erends was lying in wait when she slashed Ernst's throat."Justice," said Alicia Martens, Ernst's mother, outside the courtroom. "It doesn't bring my precious baby back, but it's justice."Prosecutors said Erends drove Ernst to a remote road off Old Walerga Road just outside Roseville on March 8, 2008. That's where they charged she attacked Ernst with a wallpaper scraper.After initially denying involvement, Erends told police in a confession that she planned the crime after Ernst allegedly poured acid down her throat several months earlier, prosecutors said.Prosecutors also said Erends had long been jealous of her friend, and that jealousy was strengthened after she believed that Ernst had slept with her boyfriend.But Erends changed her tune, and earlier this month told a jury she "just snapped" during a fight – and never plotted the murder. She said she originally confessed to get police off her back. This week, a jury of eight women and four men weren't buying it."I felt the evidence corroborated her initial confession," said jury foreman Edward Millett.Millett said he wasn't swayed by Erends' decision to take the stand."Her testimony was such that she mumbled – she was hard to understand," he said, adding that she had months to think about a new story.Juror Ellen Lersch said if the killing was spontaneous, Erends should have had more defense wounds from a resisting Alica. But that wasn't the case, suggesting Erends got the element of surprise. And Erends' reversal didn't pass the smell test, Lersch said."Most people, when they confess, they do tell the truth," she said.Erends sat motionless with tears streaming down her cheeks as the verdict was read.Afterward, Brandon Ernst, Alicia's brother, said the process was grueling. "She should have pleaded guilty," Brandon Ernst said, wearing a button with Alica's face. "It's the next part of grieving my sister's loss," he said of the guilty verdict.Jonathan Richter, Erends' defense attorney, declined to comment outside the courtroom."I'm appreciative the jury arrived at an appropriate decision," prosecutor Garen Horst said.Erends faces life in prison without parole. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.Her sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 10.