SALT LAKE CITY -- It was by no means an open and shut case, but in the end the evidence spoke for itself--according to jury members in the John Wall murder trial.
On Thursday, after seven hours of deliberation, former pediatrician John Wall was convicted in the murder of his ex-wife Uta von Schwedler inside her Sugar House home in 2011.
“I had felt like he was guilty, others had felt like he was guilty, a few had felt like he was not guilty,” said juror Cameron Sharp.
Sharp said there was no convincing of other jurors that John Wall was guilty. He said after hours of deliberation, the facts of the case spoke for themselves.
“We were able to talk about it and review the evidence and really individually come to a fact ourselves that we believe or know that Dr. Wall was the killer,” said juror Kevin Hales.
The defense claimed that von Schwedler committed suicide by overdosing on pills and drowning herself in the bathtub. However, the jury said the evidence pointed to murder. Xanax was found in her system.
“You have Xanax in the victim's body, and the victim never had any sign of depression or taking Xanax,” Sharp said.
The jurors also focused on the police interviews of Wall the day his ex-wife was found dead, and then a year and a half later when he was arrested.
“His answers and his responses, I mean not remembering anything hardly at all,” Hales said.
“Fast forward 18 months later, the story of what he was doing that night begins to change,” Sharp said.
Hales said the witness testimony of Wall's son, Pelle Wall, was especially intriguing to him.
“Having him testify the character of his dad before and the character of his dad after his mother's death, the things that transpired, it definitely left an impression on me,” Hales said.
The jury members also pointed to key pieces of evidence, such as the DNA found underneath the victim’s fingernails and the scratches on Wall’s face.
They said by no means was there any one particular piece of evidence that convicted Wall, but when you add it all up: They saw only one possible verdict.
“It comes down to, can we prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Dr. Wall did it, and, in the end, we did because the evidence was there,” Sharp said.
Wall will be back in court on April 28 for his sentencing. He faces life in prison.
