A jury found a man guilty of murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend who disappeared in Maui while five months pregnant with his child.
Steven Capobianco had been on trial since June, charged with killing Carly 'Charli' Scott. Her mother and sisters last saw her on the evening of February 9, 2014.
The jury took 28 days to find a guilty verdict.
The jury also found him guilty of arson. Capobianco was accused of torching Scott's sport utility vehicle in an attempt to cover up the killing.
Some of her bloodied clothes and remains were eventually found in a wooded area off Hana Highway. Marks on her recovered were consistent with 'someone attacking her with a sharp object,' said the prosecution, according to Maui Now.
Maui County Prosecuting Attorney John Kim declined to comment until jurors are done with the second phase of deliberations.
Jurors were asked to return to court on Thursday to listen to arguments for and against an allegation that Capobianco caused Scott's death in an 'especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner.'
Their verdict will determine whether Capobianco receives an enhanced sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Capobianco, who was 24 at the time of the disappearance, told a Hawaii News Now reporter that he saw Scott, 27, on the night her family says she vanished but that he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
He said Scott picked him up and drove him to his pickup truck, which had broken down.
He said that after he fixed his truck, Scott was driving behind him, but he lost sight of her and figured she arrived safely at her destination.
Capobianco, met her in 2009. They lived together for two years, but 'the defendant would tell his friends that they were just roommates and he did not like to take pictures with her,' Maui Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rivera told jurors in his opening statement.
They broke up, but Scott continued to love him, 'even though she knew he didn't care about her,' Rivera said.
While they were no longer a couple, Capobianco had another girlfriend and Scott got pregnant. Scott decided to continue with the pregnancy even though Capobianco insisted on an abortion, Rivera said.
In an early interview with detectives, Capobianco said about the pregnancy, 'Admittedly, I’m not thrilled about having a child. It’s not what I was planning on doing at 24 ... I’m a single, 24-year-old male who has a dog and I can barely keep me and my dog… I mean like yeah, we eat pretty well, but it’s like I have a dollar in my pocket right now until my next paycheck. I don’t have any spare cash for a child.'
But he claimed he saw how happy it made her and then was 'all for it,' according to KHON. He even claimed his new girlfriend, Cassie, was fine with the baby news and willing to try to make things work.
Detectives, Scott's family and even Capobianco's friends presumed him guilty without considering other suspects, defense attorney Jon Apo said.
Even Scott's family was initially behind him, releasing a statement shortly after her disappearance saying '[this is a] difficult time for him as well, and he also deserves the compassion of the community,' according to Hawaii News Now.
Capobianco didn't testify during his trial.
Jurors listened to an interview with a detective where Capobianco repeatedly referred to Scott in the past tense even though it wasn't yet known that she was dead.
urors began deliberating December 1. On December 13 they told the judge they were at an impasse but the next day decided to continue deliberating. They took a break December 21 for Christmas and resumed deliberating on Tuesday.
Scott's mother, Kimberlyn Scott, couldn't immediately be reached after the verdict was announced. In a text message to The Associated Press on December 7 she expressed worry about how long it was taking jurors to decide.