Maricopa County Superior Court jury sentenced Gary Wayne Snelling to death

A Maricopa County Superior Court jury sentenced Gary Wayne Snelling to death for the July 18, 1996 strangling death of a woman. Snelling was found guilty in 2007 of murdering Adele Curtis, 66, but that jury was unable to reach a decision on whether he deserved death or life in prison. A 2nd sentencing trial with a new jury began in May in front of Judge Linda Akers and brought back a death verdict for Snelling, 54. At the time of the murder, Snelling was awaiting trial on a sexual-indecency charge. He was convicted and spent some time in jail, and then, because he could not comply with the terms of his probation, he was sent to prison where he was obligated to provide a DNA sample to be entered into law-enforcement databases. In 2004, a Phoenix police detective opened Davis' cold case and ran DNA tests on blood spots found on a doorframe and on the floor of Davis' bathroom. They matched Snelling. He went to trial, and a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in May 2007. That jury deadlocked on the penalty. Under Arizona law, the death verdict must be unanimous. The 2nd jury considered only the life-or-death question and today came back with death.