After deliberating 11 hours, a jury convicted Nicole Abusharif May 5 in the murder of her lover Rebecca Klein. She could face six decades in prison.
On March 15, 2007, Klein, 32, was found bound, gagged and smothered with a garbage bag in the trunk of the 1966 Mustang that prosecutors described as Abusharif’s “pride and joy.” (The car was at Klein and Abusharif’s residence in Villa Park.)
According to the prosecution, Abusharif murdered Klein to collect an estimated $400,000 in combined cash and property that would have accrued to her in the event of Klein’s death, and to be with her new girlfriend, Rose Sodaro. The defense acknowledges that Abusharif and Sodaro were romantically linked, but denies that this relationship provided motive to kill Klein.
Specifically, the defense argued that Klein and Abusharif had a polyamorous relationship and that Klein knew her partner was dating Sodaro. During closing arguments, defense attorneys decried the potential tragedy of convicting an innocent woman, while pointing to alleged police incompetence. The prosecution, meanwhile, reiterated evidence presented at trial showing Abusharif to be a chronic liar who deceived Klein about the nature of her relationship with Sodaro.