Nicasio was convicted of first-degree murder in Antonio Taylor’s 2024 killing.

A first-degree murder verdict is a conviction on that count. It is not the prison term, which waits for sentencing. Albuquerque Journal reporting said jurors reached the verdict late Wednesday afternoon after deliberations that began Monday, convicting Virginia Nicasio of first-degree murder in Antonio Taylor’s 2024 death. Under New Mexico law as described in that coverage, the conviction requires at least 30 years before parole eligibility. She remains held pending an unscheduled sentencing hearing.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that prosecutors told jurors Nicasio ordered Taylor kidnapped, tied up in a shed behind her Northwest Albuquerque duplex, and beaten to death after she suspected him of stealing from her, including a Bose speaker and other items. Deputy District Attorney Christine Jablonsky argued an example needed to be made. Those are the prosecution’s trial arguments. The jury’s guilty verdict is the finding on first-degree murder.

Nicasio’s attorney, Lisa Torraco, argued the state’s case relied heavily on Preston Ball, who pleaded guilty to killing Taylor and another man and testified that he acted on Nicasio’s orders. Torraco told jurors Ball was a liar bound by a plea deal. Ball, 27, was sentenced in June to 60 years after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the killings of Taylor and Matthew Aragon. A co-defendant’s plea and sentence are not Nicasio’s judgment. Her first-degree murder conviction is.

A third co-defendant, Marc Barraza, 29, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy in Taylor’s death, with trial scheduled for August. Pending charges against another defendant are accusations only. District Attorney Sam Bregman praised prosecutors after the verdict. A DA statement is not the sentence the court will later impose. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.