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Defense lawyers in the murder trial of Sandra Jean Melgar on Tuesday blamed "a couple of cowboys" at the Harris County Sheriff's Office for jumping to conclusions and accusing her of fatally stabbing her husband in 2012. "Sandy Melgar got sucked into this by a couple of cowboys who came up with some theories and game over," defense attorney Mac Secrest told jurors in closing arguments of the three-week murder trial. "Where are the real killers? Are we going to see them in the courtroom anytime soon? I wouldn't bet on it." Melgar, 57, who faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted, is accused of stabbing her husband on Dec. 22, 2012, then tying herself up to stage a home invasion on the eve of their 32nd anniversary. Friends arriving for a party the next day found Jaime Melgar's body in the couple's northwest Harris County home, with Sandra Melgar tied up in the master bedroom closet. The defense insisted that Sandra Melgar never saw the home invader that hit her in the back of the head, tied her up and brutally stabbed her husband 31 times. Melgar's attorney said police failed to investigate a neighbor with a criminal record who was acting strangely at the crime scene. Instead, Secrest told jurors, two sheriff's detectives, one of whom was later fired for backdating a search warrant in a murder case, decided to charge Sandra Melgar and stopped looking for evidence. "There's no physical evidence that points to her at all," Secrest said, explaining that Jaime Melgar was stabbed and beaten about the head and body. "No broken nails, no problems with her hands, no bruising of the hands." Prosecutor Colleen Barnett said Melgar was motivated to kill her husband and stage a break-in for a $500,000 life insurance policy. She also said Melgar's religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness made her look for a way to get out of the marriage without a divorce, which would have left her ostracized. Because a church friend testified that Jehovah's Witnesses believe dead people are "sleeping" until the Apocalypse, Barnett said Melgar may have taken her husband's death lightly. "If I kill him, then I'm not ostracized — I get to hang out with my friends — and I get the money," Barnett said, imagining Melgar's thinking. When it came to Melgar's hands, Barnett pointed to photos of Melgar's right hand which showed cloudy nails, saying she used a harsh cleaner or detergent after the bloody stabbing to clean up. "This proves she's the one. That she did it," Barnett said. Jurors began deliberating immediately after the closings in state District Judge Kelli Johnson's court. http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Jury-deliberating-in-murder-trial-of-Houston-wife-11950857.php

9 "So then, Jehovah knows how to rescue people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people to be destroyed on the day of judgment." ( 2 Peter 2:9) NWT

How to Cope with a Thorn in the Flesh.... ARE you contending with some ongoing trial? If so, you are not alone. In these “critical times hard to deal with,” faithful Christians are coping with bitter opposition, family problems, sickness, financial anxieties, emotional distresses, the loss of loved ones in death, and other challenges. Some may even cry out to God, “Why are you letting this happen to me?” If such a negative attitude were to take root in a person’s heart, it could erode his joy and confidence. Jehovah God fights in our behalf. He has made sure that his servants are not ignorant regarding Satan’s tactics. (2 Corinthians 2:11) Paul, having been sorely tried, was inspired to write: “There was given me a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to keep slapping me, that I might not be overly exalted.” (2 Corinthians 12:7) What was this thorn in Paul’s flesh? Well, a thorn lodged deep under the skin would certainly be painful. So the metaphor suggests something that caused Paul pain—whether physical, emotional, or both. It may be that Paul suffered from an eye affliction or some other physical infirmity. Or the thorn may have involved those individuals who challenged Paul’s credentials as an apostle and called into question his preaching and teaching work. (2 Corinthians 10:10-12; 11:5, 6, 13) Whatever it was, that thorn remained in place and could not be removed. Today, Satan is just as pleased when we are similarly troubled by a thorn in the flesh. God has given us many examples inhis holy Word, the Bible, showing that his faithful servants have successfully coped with thorns in their flesh. •Paul •Mephibosheth •Nehemiah •Rebekah •Hannah •King David •Micaiah •Job The preceding examples by no means represent an exhaustive list. The Bible contains many more. All these faithful servants had to contend with their own figurative thorns. And what a wide variety of problems they faced! Yet, they had something incommon. None of them gave up in their service to Jehovah. Read this at this link and know you are not alone with your own personal thorn in the flesh! Despite all their distressing tests, they overcame Satan in the strength that Jehovah provided them. http://m.wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2002123?q=thorns+in+the+flesh&p=par#h=29