MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A 16-year-old Marion County girl and her brother were found guilty on Tuesday for taking part in the killing of her ex-boyfriend.
Amber Wright and her brother, Kyle Hooper, 17, are among five people charged with the murder of 15-year-old Seath Jackson last April.
During closing arguments, prosecutors showed the jury the text messages Wright sent to Jackson to convince him to meet her the night he was murdered.
"Amber Wright is smart. She is strong-willed. She is, oh-so-manipulative," said prosecutor Amy Berndt.
Wright did not testify and her lawyer did not call witnesses.
When her verdict came back, Wright sobbed in court.
"The defendant is guilty of murder in the first-degree," read a jury member.
The Marion County jury agreed that Wright was part of a plot to kill Jackson.
Prosecutors said that on April 17, 2011, Wright was part of a group of five friends who each had a role in the gruesome murder.
Jackson was beaten, shot to death, and his body was then burned and stuffed into five-gallon paint buckets and dumped in a flooded rock quarry.
Wright's mother left the courtroom in tears. Her lawyer said they will appeal.
Hooper tried to save himself by taking the stand, testifying that he never meant for Jackson to be killed.
But prosecutors quickly got him to admit he took part in the plan.
"You hit him over the head with a piece of wood," Berndt asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Hooper replied.
"In fact, you broke it over his head three times," said Berndt.
"Yes, ma'am," said Hooper.
On Monday, the jury watched what prosecutors said were videotaped confessions from both suspects.
"We just heard gunshot after gunshot after gunshot. And after maybe like five or six times of hearing it, it got quiet. And I hear Kyle going, 'What did you just do?'" said Wright in the recording.
Wright and Hooper still have to be sentenced, and face life in prison.
Last fall, 19-year-old Charlie Kay Ely, received a life sentence, and 21-year-old Justin Soto received the same sentence last month.
Still facing a first-degree murder charge is 20-year-old Michael Bargo, who authorities identified as the shooter.