TUCSON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Trial has begun in Tucson for a woman charged with first-degree murder of a man and his daughter during a home invasion meant to fund an anti-immigrant group.
Shawna Forde, 43, could face the death penalty if she is convicted, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The trial began Tuesday with opening statements from lawyers and testimony from Gina Gonzalez, whose 9-year-old daughter, Brisenia Flores, was killed. Gonzalez said her daughter pleaded, "Please don't shoot me," after three men and a woman broke into their house in May 2009.
Prosecutors say Forde made an alliance with drug dealers, saying she would help them rob business rivals. She allegedly planned to use the money for a vigilante group, Minuteman American Defense.
Eric Larsen, Forde's lawyer, described her as "an exaggerator extraordinaire" who talked to other members of the Minuteman movement about big plans. She had actually been reported to the FBI, which apparently found the scheme so outlandish agents did not pursue the tip.
"The state will present to you absolutely no witnesses that will put her in that home on May 30," Larson said.
Two men, Jason E. Bush and Albert R. Gaxiola, are to be tried separately.
