By ANTHONY LONETREE, Star Tribune
December 17, 2009
Michelle Rae Wilson, the self-proclaimed diva whose fatal shooting of an ex-boyfriend was captured in a 911 call, was convicted of second-degree murder Wednesday night in Ramsey County District Court.
She'd claimed self-defense in the slaying of Carl Jackson, 33, who died after Wilson shot him three times in her St. Paul home on Jan. 13, 2008.
But prosecutor Margaret Galvin said Jackson had moved on from that relationship -- and Wilson made sure no one else could have him.
The jury began deliberating about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday after seven days of testimony that included the playing of the 911 call and a Dec. 28, 2007, exchange between Wilson and Jackson during which she said to him: "When did I say we broke up?"
Wilson's attorney, Gary Bryant-Wolf, said that Jackson had used and abused Wilson. In testimony, Jackson had been quoted as saying: "A diva can be broken." Bryant-Wolf argued that the recording Jackson made on Dec. 28, and that he had played for others, was meant as proof that he'd broken Wilson.
Bryant-Wolf said that Wilson killed Jackson only after he barged into her home and tried to force her to have sex. The 911 call, which Jackson made in an effort to have police help him get out of the house, was merely a cover for his actions, Bryant-Wolf argued.
Wilson is to be sentenced Jan. 26 by District Judge Joanne Smith.
Anthony Lonetree • 612-673-4109
© 2009 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
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