Life In Prison For Man Convicted In Texas Torture Case
WEATHERFORD (CBSDFW.COM) -A Corsicana man convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a former neighbor over a 12-day period will spend the rest of his life in prison.
On Tuesday it took jurors just 50 minutes to find Jeffrey Maxwell guilty verdict on one aggravated kidnapping charge and two counts of aggravated sexual assault. He was given a life sentence for each of the three charges, which was the maximum penalty allowed.
Several witnesses were called to the stand in the punishment phase of the trial which began Wednesday morning, including the victim herself, who complained she still feels residual pain in her arm and hands from the abuse she endured over the 12 days she was held captive by Maxwell. She credits God with her survival.
"He gets all the credit," she said. "He answered my prayers and spared my life. That man was going to kill me."
The victim, who describes herself as a timid person, said telling her story on the stand was one of the hardest things she's ever done.
"It just brought things all back to me," she said. Still, her faith and their former friendship made her feel mercy toward her attacker. "Sometimes I feel very sorry for him," she said.
Also called to the stand were witnesses who testified Maxwell molested and raped them in the 1980s.
A former Watauga police officer testified that when he went to Maxwell's home, to execute a search warrant in 1987, officers found several bondage books.
Jurors were later shown pictures taken at Maxwell's Corsicana home, of metal filing cabinets filled with dozens of pornographic books and magazines with a common theme: rape and bondage.
More clips from a taped interview with Maxwell was also shown to jurors. When questioned about pairs of women's panties he had in his possession, Maxwell revealed he had stolen them from several women, including neighbors, who Maxwell said had "left their doors unlocked." He admitted he did this undetected some 30 or 40 times.
The defense called no witnesses and Maxwell declined to testify. Defense attorney Richard Alley said no one could be located to testify favorably on Maxwell's behalf.
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