MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) - Jurors are scheduled to resume deliberations Monday in the murder trial of a Morris County woman charged with killing her longtime boyfriend.
Prosecutors contend former teacher Virginia Vertetis purposely shot Patrick Gilhuley in her Mount Olive home in March 2014 out of anguish that he was breaking up with her. The two had been together on and off for about six years.
Defense attorneys claim she shot Gilhuley, a retired New York City police officer, in self-defense after he beat and choked her because he thought she was going to report him to the IRS.
Jurors heard closing arguments late last week and began deliberations Friday.
The panel asked the judge to re-hear testimony of Gilhuley’s daughter Monday. She testified her father called her from his cellphone just before the shooting started.
The 54-year-old Vertetis has been in the Morris County jail since March 2014. If she’s convicted of murder, she could be sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. However, the jury also is considering the lesser offenses of aggravated manslaughter or manslaughter, according to The Daily Record of Parsippany (https://dailyre.co/2oqrpjp).
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Information from: Daily Record (Parsippany, N.J.), https://www.dailyrecord.com
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