A young mother who pushed her Air
Force veteran husband through a window on the 25th floor of an apartment
building during an argument has been found guilty of second-degree
murder.
The jury at Tulsa County District Court recommended that Amber Hilbering, 21, be sentenced to 25 years for the death of her husband, Joshua Hilberling, 23, in 2011.
Mr Hilberling, who had recently left the Air Force, was pushed through the glass at the Oklahoma apartment block by his then heavily-pregnant wife and landed on a parking garage 17 stories below.
Mrs Hilberling looked shocked as the jury delivered its verdict, while her family members were left in tears in the packed courtroom, the Tulsa World reported.
The jury chose the severest of the two possible convictions; prosecutors had also suggested she be charged with first-degree manslaughter.
She was led from the courtroom in handcuffs and will return for her sentencing on April 23.
Hilberling family members and her attorneys did not comment immediately after the verdict, but Josh Hilberling's mother Jeanne told FOX23 that she had known this would be the outcome.
'The evidence was overwhelming and the defense was insulting to our family and the jury's intelligence,' she said.
'This verdict does not bring our Joshua back to us, however if we can prevent someone else, another man, from being abused and/or killed - Joshua was not murdered in vain.'
Hilberling had testified that she pushed her husband in self-defense after he grabbed her shoulders during an argument, but she said that she never intended for him to fall out the 25th-floor window.
Instead she claimed that he fell only because the glass at their highrise apartment was too thin.
Ms Hilberling's lawyers said that he died because the large window had glass was no thicker than the panes of a standard home window.
He said Mr Hilberling's body was crumbled on the roof of the garage. and Ms Hilberling had to be watched for her own safety.
'We were actually afraid she was going to jump off the top of the parking garage,' Mr Newbury said.
She had previously rejected plea deals from prosecutors and decided to take the case to trial.
The jury at Tulsa County District Court recommended that Amber Hilbering, 21, be sentenced to 25 years for the death of her husband, Joshua Hilberling, 23, in 2011.
Mr Hilberling, who had recently left the Air Force, was pushed through the glass at the Oklahoma apartment block by his then heavily-pregnant wife and landed on a parking garage 17 stories below.
Mrs Hilberling looked shocked as the jury delivered its verdict, while her family members were left in tears in the packed courtroom, the Tulsa World reported.
The jury chose the severest of the two possible convictions; prosecutors had also suggested she be charged with first-degree manslaughter.
She was led from the courtroom in handcuffs and will return for her sentencing on April 23.
Hilberling family members and her attorneys did not comment immediately after the verdict, but Josh Hilberling's mother Jeanne told FOX23 that she had known this would be the outcome.
'The evidence was overwhelming and the defense was insulting to our family and the jury's intelligence,' she said.
'This verdict does not bring our Joshua back to us, however if we can prevent someone else, another man, from being abused and/or killed - Joshua was not murdered in vain.'
Hilberling had testified that she pushed her husband in self-defense after he grabbed her shoulders during an argument, but she said that she never intended for him to fall out the 25th-floor window.
Instead she claimed that he fell only because the glass at their highrise apartment was too thin.
Ms Hilberling's lawyers said that he died because the large window had glass was no thicker than the panes of a standard home window.
But glass repairman Armando Rosales, who rushed
into the home at University Club Apartments testified that he feared Ms
Hliberling might push him to his death, as well, shortly after the
incident.
When he arrived, he found the 19-year-old screaming: 'My husband fell out the window! I pushed my husband out the window! I killed my husband.'
Mr Hilberling's family say that he had packed his bags and was planning to leave his wife after enduring abuse from Ms Hilberling.
Jurors were shown a copy of an emergency protective order he had obtained against his wife a month before his death, allegedly she had thrown a lamp at his head, leaving him needing stitches.
When he arrived, he found the 19-year-old screaming: 'My husband fell out the window! I pushed my husband out the window! I killed my husband.'
Mr Hilberling's family say that he had packed his bags and was planning to leave his wife after enduring abuse from Ms Hilberling.
Jurors were shown a copy of an emergency protective order he had obtained against his wife a month before his death, allegedly she had thrown a lamp at his head, leaving him needing stitches.
But the order was dismissed when the couple
failed to turn up to court.
Dan Newbury, a Tulsa firefighter,
took the stand to say the Ms Hilberling was hysterical when he arrived
at the parking garage.He said Mr Hilberling's body was crumbled on the roof of the garage. and Ms Hilberling had to be watched for her own safety.
'We were actually afraid she was going to jump off the top of the parking garage,' Mr Newbury said.
She had previously rejected plea deals from prosecutors and decided to take the case to trial.
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