Anti-immigrant vigilante gets death penalty for murder of Mexican girl, 9 who begged 'please don't kill me'



Father, 29, also shot dead in attack but mother survives wounds to testify in court

Defence team talks of Shawna Forde's personality disorder after being abused as a child



The leader of an anti-illegal immigrant vigilante group has been given the death penalty for the shooting of a nine-year-old girl and her father in a horrific Arizona home invasion.

A Pima County jury deliberated four hours over two days before deciding Shawna Forde, 42, would be put to death.

Forde was found guilty of the May 2009 murders last week.

The court heard that she lead Minutemen American Defense, a small border watch group. Prosecutors claimed that she planned the attack to help fund its anti-immigrant operations.

Facing death: Shawna Forde during her murder trial in Pima County Superior Court. The jury decides today whether the death sentence should be considered

She was convicted of two counts of first degree murder for the deaths of nine-year-old Brisenia Flores and her father Raul, 29, at their home in Arivaca.



Authorities said Forde and two men dressed as law enforcement officers forced their way into Flores' home then shot him, his daughter and wife, Gina Gonzalez.

Mrs Gonzalez survived her injuries after getting into a gun battle with her attackers.



Harrowing: the court heard how Brisenia Flores, nine, begged for her life before being shot in the head

In court, she told how she played dead on the floor and listened to her daughter begging for her life.

She broke down as she remembered Brisenia's desperate pleas.

She said her daughter asked her killer: 'Why did you shoot my dad? Why did you shoot my mum?'



And she added tearfully: 'I can hear her telling him to "please don't shoot me".'

Mrs Gonzalez said: 'I miss my husband, I miss my daughter, I miss my family, I miss my life...and that's all because of a choice she made.'

Mr Flores was believed to be involved with drug trafficking, and prosecutors claimed Forde's intention was to take cash and or drugs from the home.

Forde's lawyer argued she had never been inside the home, an assertion that the jury did not believe.

Defence attorney Jill Thorpe said Thorpe said that Forde had a personality disorder stemming from being abused as a child.

She was molested by her uncle at the age of four, and later by another man until she was 12-years-old.

But the prosecution said Forde orchestrated the attack, with prosecutor Rick Unklesbay telling the jury: 'She didn't put a gun to Brisenia's head... but she was the one in charge Because of that you must hold her accountable.'



The jury returned to Pima County Superior Court today to deliver its decision.

Police said Mrs Gonzalez shot and wounded one of her attackers, Jason Eugene Bush, who officers believe was the gunman.

Another man, Albert Robert Gaxiola, is accused of providing information about the area. Bush and Gaxiola go on trial in the spring. They too face the death penalty.



In handcuffs: Forde leaves the sheriff's office following her arrest

Before coming to Arizona, Forde lived in Everett, Washington, where she ran for the City Council in 2007, promising to allow police to check the immigration status of suspects, according to news accounts.

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a volunteer group headed by Chris Simcox, is dedicated to preventing illegal crossings of the U.S. border.



Arguing that the government is insufficiently concerned with securing the border, the corps has organised several state chapters, with the intention of providing law enforcement agencies with evidence of immigration law violations.

Crime scene: Police guard the house in Arizona where the raid took place

Mr Simcox states that the group merely reports incidents to law enforcement, and does not directly confront immigrants.



He said the corps expelled Forde in 2007, amid allegations of lying and pretending to be a senior leader.

Forde began her own group, bragging that it would be going after drug cartels.

Mr Simcox said: 'We knew that Shawna Forde was not just an unsavoury character but pretty unbalanced, as well.'