(CLEVELAND) - A Cleveland jury has convicted Christopher Whitaker, 44, on all charges related to the murder of 14-year-old Alianna DeFreeze. His defense team did not contest the charges against him, and admitted he was responsible for the crime. However, his attorney will make the case to the jury next week that Whitaker was high when he killed Alianna, and that the judge should consider that as a mitigating factor in her sentencing. Whitaker faces the death penalty. Prosecutors noted that Whitaker made a choice to get high and that his crimes against Alianna were premeditated. They said the fact that he stored tools in the abandoned home in which he killed Alianna is proof of the premeditation. He used those tools to torture her, and a screwdriver, drill and knife were displayed before the court during the trial.
Alianna was kidnapped after getting off a bus near E. 93rd Street and Kinsman Road last January. Her body was found inside a home on Fuller Avenue.