BENTONVILLE -- Jersey Bridgeman loved to chase butterflies and feed ducks, her mother, DesaRae Crouch, told a packed courtroom Wednesday.
A jury earlier had found Zachary Holly, 30, of Bentonville guilty of capital murder in 6-year-old Jersey's death. The girl's body was found in the closet of an abandon house next to Holly's residence on Southeast A Street on Nov. 20, 2012. Pajamas were wrapped around her neck.
The jury of seven men and five women began to deliberate at 11 a.m. Wednesday and returned hours later with its verdict.
Holly stood between his attorneys as Circuit Judge Brad Karren read the verdict. Jersey's family members hugged during a break after the verdict was read.
Crouch testified during the sentencing phase that it was fun to be Jersey's mother.
"She had stories," Crouch said. "She was a very colorful character."
Jersey loved being a big sister. She and her younger sister, Leah, were sidekicks, Crouch said.
Jersey loved to eat french fries, Crouch said.
"She liked McDonald's," Crouch said. "What kid doesn't?"
Sniffles could be heard around the courtroom as Crouch testified, but that comment drew laughter from some in attendance.
Holly rocked in his chair as a tearful Crouch described Jersey.
Vickie Price, Jersey's grandmother, called her daughter and two granddaughters "The Three Musketeers."
Price told jurors that she missed hearing Jersey's voice and getting hugs from her.
"I will never hear her yell 'Memaw' to me ever again," Price said.
Prosecutors also called Amanda Gatwalt as a witness. She was Jersey's kindergarten teacher at Sugar Creek Elementary School. She told jurors that Jersey had learned to spell her last name, and that Jersey had a story to tell her almost every day.
Gatwalt described the last time she saw the child, who had won an 8-pound turkey at school. Jersey had the turkey in her backpack and was dragging it across the floor. Jersey was concerned that she wouldn't be able to get on the bus with the turkey, and the two laughed about it, Gatwalt said.
"The last time I saw her was when she was all hunched over with a big turkey in her backpack," said Gatwalt, drawing a laugh from people in the courtroom.
Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecuting attorney, rested the prosecution's case after Gatwalt's testimony. Smith asked jurors in his opening statement in the sentencing phase to impose the death penalty on Holly.
Holly also was found guilty of rape, kidnapping and residential burglary.
Robby Golden, one of Holly's attorneys, described Holly's childhood to the jury. Holly lived in 39 different homes and attended 23 different schools during his childhood, Golden said.
The California Department of Human Services was contacted 16 times about neglect, along with physical and sexual abuse complaints concerning Holly, Golden said.
The defense will begin to call witnesses this morning in an attempt to persuade the jury to spare Holly's life. Holly could be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty for the capital-murder conviction.
Metro on 05/21/2015