A jury in Beaumont convicted her of capital murder and sentenced her to death.

The appeals court upheld her conviction but ruled that Jefferson County prosecutors misstated the special issue presented to jurors regarding Berry's likelihood of being a future danger to society.

In a Tarrant County case, the appeals court upheld the conviction and sentence of Sheldon Ward, 27, condemned for killing Nyanuer "Mary" Pal five years ago in Fort Worth. Ward's attorneys had raised 13 points of error from his trial.

An Exxon spokesman said the Irving-based company, which still sees the award as excessive, would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
 

Coleman and Rhoades admitted that from early September through Nov. 17, 2006, they had participated in a conspiracy to defraud Fieldstone Mortgage Corp., according to a release from John Wood, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Coleman also pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud.

On May 14, co-defendant Jeremy A. Plagman, 29, of Lee's Summit, pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Plagman, an appraiser doing business as JET Appraisals in Lee's Summit, provided an inflated appraisal of $1.2 million for property at 5034 Sunset Drive in Kansas City.

Coleman's role in the conspiracy was to prepare and provide a number of fraudulent letters for co-conspirators attesting to their creditworthiness, Wood said in the release. These letters and the inflated appraisal were submitted to Fieldstone Mortgage as part of the loan application to buy the property. Rhoades' role in the conspiracy was to assist a co-defendant in obtaining documents needed for the transaction, to prepare and submit false documents as needed and to contact co-conspirators as needed, Wood said.

Co-conspirators hoped to obtain loan proceeds in excess of the property's actual sale price by falsely representing to the mortgage lender that the stated sale price was greater than the actual sale price, Wood said.

Coleman also admitted that on three separate occasions in October and November 2006, he had committed wire fraud by transmitting faxes of fraudulent documents in furtherance of the conspiracy. He also admitted to wire fraud by acknowledging his responsibility for a fax transmission to Fieldstone Mortgage of signed closing documents related to the sale and purchase of the property, Wood said.

Each co-defendant could be subject to a sentence of as long as five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine of as much as $250,000 and an order of restitution on the conspiracy charge. Coleman also could be subject to a sentence of as long as 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine of as much as $250,000 on each wire fraud charge.

Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Parker Marshall and Senior Litigation Counsel Gene Porter are prosecuting the case, which the FBI investigated.

Srivastava told medics that Wilson doused her with gasoline and set her on fire during an argument at the couple's home on the Southside of Indianapolis, according to police.

Wilson, who was treated for burns to his forearms and hands, initially told firefighters he and Srivastava had been burned when he tried to light a propane grill, but police said Wilson's grill still had its plastic cover on it.

"Things are not always as they seem," said Wilson's attorney, Marvin Coffey.

"We're not disputing the fact that she had gasoline on her; we're disputing the fact that she died of that, and it is a terrible, tragic thing," he said. "Now the question remains, was it an intentional act?"

Wilson's trial was scheduled for July 30. If convicted, he could face 45 to 65 years in prison.

Echols said her three children excelled in school. In fact, she had attended two awards ceremonies for two of her children days before deputies came knocking on her door.

"The very next day, May 18, I was arrested, and I sat in jail for over five hours. I had never seen the inside of a jail," said Echols.

But in closing statements, prosecutors said Echols signed legal documents seven times saying her family lived at addresses in the city when in fact the family did not.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a lie is a lie, and our law says when you lie to the government, you have committed a crime," said assistant district attorney Grady Moore.

Echols' defense attorney, however, called the 16 felony charges overkill. They asked jurors to send a message that prosecutors had gone too far.

"She wanted her children to get a good quality education in a situation where they would not be latch-key children, where they would not have to come home alone, where they would not have to have a baby sitter, where they would not have to have day care, where their family would be responsible and take care of them," said attorney Vic Reynolds.

The men were first indicted Feb. 9 on 20 counts of first-degree murder. Firefighters discovered the bodies inside the family's rented home after it was reported on fire Jan. 19.

Authorities have said Serrano and Gilleo were partners with Manuel Morey in a small drug dealing operation.

Police said Serrano and Gilleo went to the family's home to attempt to steal illegal drugs, and during the robbery Tony Morey and his wife were shot and the three boys were stabbed. Attorneys for Serrano and Gilleo could not be reached late Thursday.

The new murder charges include five counts of intentional murder and six counts of felony murder causing someone's death while committing another felony.

Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. The first-degree murder charges are punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole. Both men are being held without bail.