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Friday, May 24, 2013 | 4:15 a.m.

Updated: 8:53 a.m. Sunday, July 3, 2011 | Posted: 9:31 a.m. Thursday, June 30, 2011

Jury: Kalebu Guilty Of Aggravated Murder



SEATTLE —

A jury has found Isaiah Kalebu guilty of aggravated murder, attempted murder, rape and burglary in the July 2009 break-in and attack on a lesbian couple in their South Park home.

One victim survived. Her partner, Teresa Butz, was killed.

Prosecutors described the attack in which the two women were raped, tortured and stabbed in July 2009 as "horrific."

"He forced both women into sex acts; raped them in every way imaginable. He was calm and deliberate throughout it all,” prosecutor Brian McDonald said of the attack.

Prosecutors said Kalebu raped and cut the women for two hours until Butz threw a table through a bedroom window and crawled outside. She died at the scene.

UNCUT: Judge Reads Jury's Verdict UNCUT: God Told Him 'To Attack My Enemies' UNCUT: Strange Moments In Court Kalebu, Judge Have Bizarre Exchange

Opening statements in the trial began on June 6. Earlier this week, Kalebu, who has been watching his trial on TV in another room, asked the judge to allow him to testify in front of jurors.

Throughout his court appearances, Kalebu has been unwieldy and has been strapped to a chair to keep him from harming himself. In one instance, he swallowed a small pencil and had to be rushed to the hospital. At other times, he’s tried to remove the protective mitts from his hands, tear off straps or put items in his mouth. He’s often been heard hurling expletives and has been outfitted with a protective green smock.

After Kalebu's defense team and Judge Michael Hayden agreed on the terms of Kalebu's testimony, which included the use of a shock device on Kalebu if needed, the defendant appeared in court Wednesday, dressed in plain clothes.

During his brief but powerful testimony Wednesday, Kalebu said that his God told him “to attack my enemies, and I did so."

An aggravated murder conviction means Kalebu will be automatically sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of release for that charge.

Kalebu was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read.

Previous Stories: June 30, 2011: Kalebu Admits Attack On South Park Couple; Fate In Hands Of Jury June 28, 2011: Kalebu Will Testify Wearing Shock Sleeve June 28, 2011: Kalebu, Judge Have Bizarre Exchange Over Testimony June 27, 2011: Mother Of Man In South Park Murder Trial Takes Stand June 15, 2011: Isaiah Kalebu OK After Swallowing Pencil June 9, 2011: Survivor: We Told South Park Attacker 'Please, Please Don't Hurt Us' June 7, 2011: First Responders Testify In South Park Rape-Murder Trial June 7, 2011: Trial Begins For Man In South Park Rapes, Slaying March 26, 2011: Man Charged In South Park Rape And Murder Lashes Out In Court January 10, 2011: Man Accused In Fatal Stabbing, Rape Found Competent To Stand Trial

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