Delvecchio Patrick is guilty of murdering ex-wife Deanna Cook, the woman whose unanswered 911 call brought community outrage, a jury decided Friday.
Jurors will return Tuesday to begin considering a sentence for Patrick in Cook's 2012 murder.
Prosecutors are seeking a life prison sentence.
The woman's relatives are restricted by a gag order from talking about the case until after the sentencing phase is completed, but Deborah Nixon Bowles, an advocate against domestic violence, spoke for them.
"It's been a long, emotional two-year ordeal for this family, but today to see that justice was served, they can move forward with their lives," Bowles said.
A recording of Cook's frantic 911 call for help on Aug. 17, 2012, was a key part of the evidence against Patrick. She identified Patrick by his nickname on the call as she pleaded with him to stop the attack.
Her family found her strangled and drowned in a bathtub two days later. The case brought promises of Dallas emergency response reform and helped spark a Dallas crusade against domestic violence, led by Mayor Mike Rawlings.
In closing arguments Friday, defense attorney Roger Lenox asked jurors to find Patrick innocent.
Lenox claimed Cook's drug use killed her, that she was hallucinating on the 911 call because of drug use and mental illness and that she was unconscious when she drowned in the bathtub.
"It's reasonable doubt because this 911 call is inconsistent with the physical evidence and it demonstrates that Deanna Cook was out of touch with reality," Lenox said.
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Lead prosecutor Trey Stock called on jurors to give Cook's family the guilty verdict they have been waiting for.
"The idea she is hallucinating, her husband, saying multiple times, 'I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you,' is preposterous," Stock said. "She didn't hallucinate that. I heard it. You heard it. Delvecchio heard it. And he said it."
Judge Brandon Birmingham removed one juror from the panel Friday morning before closing arguments after that juror was seen talking with a trial spectator Thursday. An alternate took the juror's place.
Jurors Hear Alleged Confession in Deanna Cook Murder Trial
Jurors heard an alleged confession Thursday in Delvecchio Patrick's murder trial for the 2012 death of ex-wife Deanna Cook, the woman whose unanswered 911 call brought community outrage.
As a state rebuttal witness Thursday, former Dallas County Jail nurse Jamie Hardiway said she overheard Patrick bragging about the murder with another inmate
"He said every time he'd been in jail before he worried about what she was doing and he said he no longer needed to worry about that," Hardiway said.
Patrick's defense spent most of the day casting blame on Cook. Witnesses described her history of drug abuse and mental health issues.
Forensic Psychologist Kristi Compton completed what she called a 'psychological autopsy' on the victim. It showed Cook had been treated for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, mood disorder and drug abuse which at times caused hallucination and delusions.
"There's a range of conditions that Ms. Cook exhibited, and that led to a host of behaviors and lifestyle choices and sometimes erratic behaviors that were self-destructive," Compton said.
Forensic toxicologist Gary Wimbish said medical examiner records suggest Cook was likely under the influence of PCP at the time of her death.
"It's a high probability that it's affecting her," Wimbish said.
Cedar Hill Police Officer Andrew Rhoden showed pictures of a tire repair tool that he said Cook used to inflict injuries on Patrick in a prior dispute.
"There was no signs of injuries that she was complaining of on that day, and it appeared on that day that she had been the aggressor," Rhoden said.
Patrick's stepfather Allen Hall described the couple's volatile relationship. He said Cook once called him on the phone insisting that Hall keep Patrick away from her, or else.
"At the end of our conversation, there were three shots fired. Pow, pow, pow," Hall said.
But Hall said Cook would drive by to pick Patrick up after her demands that he stay away.
Cook's frantic 911 call for help on August 17, 2012 was played earlier in the trial for jurors. Her family found her dead two days later. The case brought promises of Dallas emergency response reform and helped spark a Dallas crusade against domestic violence, led by Mayor Mike Rawlings.
Prosecutors say Patrick was Cook's biggest problem and they want a life prison sentence for his behavior.
Closing arguments and jury deliberation are expected Friday.
