Robert Windsor’s attorney, Jim Glover, told the jury Friday that Windsor is not deserving on the death penalty because he suffers from multiple mental illnesses.  On Friday, the jury began hearing arguments and testimony in the sentencing phase of Windsor’s trial to determine whether he’ll spend the rest of his life in jail or die from lethal injection.

Windsor was convicted of first-degree murder on Wednesday for the death of his former girlfriend Stephany Jo White on Aug. 18, 2005.  She died in her Conover home after she was suffocated with a plastic bag over her head, according to the autopsy report.

Glover said in his opening statement on Friday that Windsor is bipolar and suffers from a mood disorder, which have roots in his childhood.  He said knowing that would help the jury understand the mindset Windsor was in on the day White died.  He also alluded that Windsor’s illnesses were a contributing factor to the reason he became a drug addict.

“There is a history in his family of severe mental illness (and) of substance abuse,” Glover said.

The District Attorney’s office is pursuing the death penalty.

Assistant District Attorney Sean McGinnis told the jury in his opening statement that they should consider the evidence already brought forward in the trial.  He said by the end of the trial they would be convinced the facts making Windsor deserving of death will outweigh those that do not and would be sufficient to ask for the death sentence.

“We are convinced that you will conclude the only appropriate sentence is death,” McGinnis said.

James White, Stephany Jo White’s father, testified on how her death has affected him and his family.  The last time he saw her alive was the weekend before her death when they came for a visit.  It’s been a long wait for the family to see her murderer convicted.

“For two and a half years, we lived a living nightmare,” he said. “…Everyday I watched my wife cry and I cried with her.  There’s nothing harder in life than to lose a child.”

Stephany Jo’s sister-in-law, Rachel White, explained how emotionally troubling the experience has been for the whole family.  She and her husband have sat through every day of the trial along with Stephany Jo’s father. Stephany Jo’s mother, Betty White, hasn’t been able to attend.

“Betty can’t cope with it,” Rachel White said.

Tears rolled down her face as she talked about Stephany Jo White’s 8-year-old son.

“How do you tell him his mother is dead,” Rachel White said.

Windsor’s trial will continue on Monday at 9:30 a.m. at the Catawba County Justice Center.