A California woman accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend by smashing his head in with a frying pan and slitting his throat was found guilty by a San Bernardino County jury on Monday.
Trista Ann Spicer was found guilty on one count of second-degree murder enhancement for using a deadly weapon in the slaying of 42-year-old Eric Mercado. Spicer maintained throughout the court proceedings that she was acting in self-defense when she killed Mercado, who had been missing since 2014, until his body was discovered in Spicer’s backyard in 2022.
Spicer was suspected of the murder after detectives with the San Bernardino Police Department’s Homicide Unit received a tip about possible human remains being found in Spicer’s backyard, according to police. Detectives conducted a “follow-up interview with Spicer on Aug. 23, 2022, and eventually obtained a search warrant for Spicer’s home in the 1400 block of E. Davidson Street, according to police…