I don't know if any of you remember this, but my neighbor Alison Feldman was murdered in 2015

[Coventina]

The guy was finally caught in 2018 with DNA evidence.
He was tried and found guilty earlier this year.
The trial is now in the penalty phase.
The jury is considering the DP (which I am, and always will be, adamantly against).

Here's a news clip of the latest:

Juror removed in Ian Mithcham penalty phase, deliberations to start over

PHOENIX — Deliberations will start over in the penalty phase of the Ian Mitcham trial after a juror was removed Tuesday.

In April, Mitcham was found guilty of murdering Allison Feldman inside her Scottsdale home in 2015.

Mitcham faces the death penalty or life in prison.

Ian Mitcham was arrested in 2018, but just this year, he was found guilty of murder, sexual assault and burglary.

The jury now has to decide if he will face the death penalty or life in prison. This comes after finding aggravating factors in the case, including Mitcham's previous conviction for a different crime, and prosecutors say he committed the murder in a "cruel manner.”

A juror was removed Tuesday for discussing the case with someone. An alternate was added and deliberations are set to start over on Wednesday.

(short article, no more at link)

https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/juror-removed-in-ian-mithcham-penalty-phase-deliberations-to-start-over-allison-feldman-phoenix-arizona/75-92e1e5ad-b40f-4aa4-86a9-37ade01edbfb

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PS: The house she was murdered in (which she owned), a few houses away from mine, was eventually sold and is now a short-term rental.

[UpInArms]

1. ...

[Irish_Dem]

2. Some questions:

Did the killer know the victim before the murder?

Was the boyfriend a suspect early on or did the DNA lead police right to the killer?

After reading the details of the murder and rape, I wouldn't care if this
guy gets the death penalty.

[Coventina]

3. I don't know if you found the answers, but here's my answers:

1. The official word is no. It appears to be a random killing. Although I could SWEAR I read a news report shortly after his arrest that he had been her Uber driver a few days prior to the murder. Now I can't find any evidence of that story, so I don't know if I have a false memory or what.

2. Yes, the boyfriend was the suspect early on. He's the one who found her, actually. He was cleared after the DNA evidence proved he was not the murderer. But, for a long time, many people still thought he was guilty. "It's always the boyfriend," was the opinion. I feel really bad for the guy. The whole experience must have been incredibly traumatic for him.

One of the first responders to the scene is a friend of my brother's. He described it as, "He killed her in every room of that house."
It was a long battle that Alison lost.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Thanks.

Thank God for DNA science.
Or an innocent man might have been charged.

Yes the boyfriend and the one who finds the body is always a suspect.

Yes with that kind of murder the killer had to have left DNA evidence all over the place.
That poor woman.

Death penalty is too good for him.

I don't usually advocate death penalty, but in some cases yes.

EDIT to add, if the killer had taken responsibly, pled guilty and saved the family the pain of a trial then yes life in prison. But the way he refused to do the right thing in the end, nope.