A defense attorney has died after collapsing during the closing arguments of a murder trial.
Attorney Jean Darby, 64, died on Saturday in Florence, Alabama, after being rushed to the hospital during the trial of a man charged with murdering a 77-year-old retired corrections officer.
Her friends called her passionate about her work, and said she was devoted to ensuring that everyone received a fair trial.
Darby was delivering her closing arguments in defense of Alfonso Jarmon when she told the jury that the trial must have been exhausting to them, since it had been for her.
Attorney Jean Darby, 64, (right) died on Saturday in Florence, Alabama, after being rushed to the hospital during the murder trial of her client Alfonso Jarmon (left)
She then suddenly collapsed, grabbing for the jury box as she fell to the floor, the Florence-Daily Times reported. A plainclothes police officer began rendering CPR and she was rushed to an area hospital.
Doctors ruled out a heart condition, but Darby remained in serious condition until she passed away in the hospital on Saturday.
In the meantime, the judge decided to proceed with Jarmon’s trial after appointing replacement attorneys.
Jarmon was accused of fatally shooting 77-year-old Charles Hugh Perkins in April of 2016.
Jarmon (pictured) was accused of fatally shooting his neighbor in April 2016
‘Now, I need to know from each of you, can you put aside and proceed with the remainder of the trial?’ Judge Gil Self advised the jurors on Friday, the day after Darby’s collapse.
‘Can you call it down the middle, set aside sympathy and only apply the law to the facts in the case?’
The jurors all indicated that they could and deliberations began.
Jarmon was Perkins next door neighbor at the time he was murdered in his yard.
During testimony, the jury heard three eyewitnesses tell of seeing Jarmon shove Perkins, grab the victim’s hand, then pull out a gun and shoot Perkins in the right side of his head.
Forensic experts testified that a .380-caliber pistol found in a plastic bag under Jarmon’s mattress was the gun that fired the fatal round.
The jury returned a guilty verdict in about 30 minutes. Jarmon is set to be sentenced on December 6.