By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com
A Sacramento jury returned a first-degree murder conviction today against a woman who set up what turned out to be the gruesome stabbing death last year of a young artist in his mother's midtown home.
Nadine Danielle Klein faces a likely life prison term with no chance of parole when she is sentenced on Dec. 10 by Superior Court Judge Steve White.
Klein, 21, was convicted of burglary along with murder in the June 3, 2009, killing of Jim Arthur, 23, a special-circumstance allegation the jury found to be true that qualifies her for the no-parole sentence.
The verdict came in Klein's retrial after jurors split 9-3 in favor of her guilt earlier this year but could not reach a unanimous decision.
Jurors convicted Klein's two co-defendants in the first trial, Johnathan Allen Baker and Jeremy Dale Ackerman. Both were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
According to testimony in the two trials, Klein helped Baker and Ackerman slip into Arthur's house for the purpose of robbery and burglary. She was convicted under the theory that she aided and abetted a felony that turned into a murder.
Baker initiated the fatal knife attack on Arthur when he learned that the victim was gay, authorities said. Ackerman also admitted to stabbing Arthur in the course of the assault. Arthur was stabbed a total of 176 times during the attack, Deputy District Attorney Eric Kindall said in his closing argument last week.
Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.
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