He hired two men to kill his ex-girlfriend. Now a Valley jury thinks he should die for this crime.
Last week Ivan Teleguz was convicted of being an "accessory before the fact in capital murder for hire" in the July 2001 murder of his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Sipe. After seven intense hours, Sipe and Teleguz's family heard the jury's explanation for the death sentence. The jury feels he's a threat to society even behind bars; and hiring two men to kill Sipe was a vile and inhumane crime.
When the verdict was read, Teleguz did not react. His family looked at the jury expressionless as each member was asked to confirm the sentence recommendation. They had no comment after court let out.
Stephanie Sipe's family jumped in their seats. They say last week's guilty verdict was enough for them.
"Five years ago we lost someone very special to us but we were left the greatest memories and that was raising her son," Jennifer Tilley, Stephanie's sister.
Teleguz is the father of that son, six-year-old Zachary. The alleged motive behind the murder was child support payments. Because of that, the family worries about Zachary's safety. They hope if the sentence is carried out they'll feel at ease.
"I wanna say that I will but I don't know I'd have to wait until then," said Tilley.
The judge will either approve or decline the jury's recommendation in May. Since this is a death sentence, there's an automatic appeal process. WHSV will be keeping you up to date with that.