It took a Pima County jury just one hour to reject a Tucson man's claims he killed another man in self-defense in November 2010.
Scott Mediz was convicted of first-degree murder and kidnapping Thursday.
Mediz, 33, will be sentenced to life in prison, with or without the possibility of parole, on Oct. 29.
Mediz was convicted of killing his girlfriend's former boyfriend, Jerry Lewis, 30, in November 2010.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Lindsay St. John presented evidence that Sara Golden and Mediz conspired to kill Lewis, who had taken a cab to the couple's home near South Kino Parkway and East 36th Street on Nov. 21, 2010, because Golden told him she'd broken up with Mediz and she wanted him back.
Mediz brutally beat Lewis when he arrived. He later stuffed him into a Mazda hatchback, jurors were told. Lewis died of positional asphyxiation after Mediz got a flat tire and abandoned the car in a convenience store parking lot.
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Golden lured Lewis to her home without Mediz's knowledge knowing the two men would end up fighting, Assistant Pima County Public Defender Joel Feinman told jurors during opening statements. Lewis was armed with a box cutter and a bat when he arrived that morning, and Mediz beat Lewis in self-defense, Feinman said.
During the trial, jurors heard several voice-mail messages in which Golden said she wanted Lewis tortured and killed for molesting a family member.
They also saw two videotaped interviews with Golden's 6-year-old daughter. In the first video, taken hours after the slaying, the girl said she saw Lewis going to sleep after Mediz hit him, Mediz cleaning up blood and then wrapping Lewis in a blanket and putting him in the car.
The girl also testified she heard her mother saying "Thank you" and "Good job."
In the second interview, conducted in February 2012, the girl quoted many conversations, but also said she doesn't have a good memory of what was said that morning.
She also said Mediz and her mother shot Lewis. He wasn't shot.
During the second interview, the girl said she left her bedroom and saw blood in the hallway.
"I knew she killed Jerry," the girl said, referring to her mother.
At another point, she said, "When mom opened the door … when I came in there, she said, 'Look at that. Isn't that wonderful? We don't have this mean old man over here.'"
She also said her mother told her to kick Lewis.
"I didn't really want to hurt him. I don't want to go to jail," the girl said.
The girl also quoted the following exchange between her mother and Mediz: "The night before she killed Jerry she said, 'This old man needs to die right now" and he replied, "That's a good idea."
Golden is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 6.
On StarNet: Follow the news and events at Pima County's courthouses in Kim Smith's blog, At the Courthouse, at azstarnet.com/courthouse
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com. On Twitter: @KimSmithStar
