SAN MARCOS, Texas -- The jury deliberated for more than three hours Thursday before deciding they will return Friday to continue talks about the punishment for Shana Elliott, the former Texas State University student who is accused of driving drunk before a crash that killed a man and his unborn baby.
Elliott took the stand Thursday.
She pleaded guilty March 5 in the 2016 drunk driving crash that killed Fabian Guerrero-Moreno, 23, and injured his pregnant wife, Kristian Guerrero.
Elliott said, "I'm guilty" Thursday. When asked if it was a bad mistake, she replied, "The worst."
“Is it fair to say you knew the consequences?" prosecutors asked Elliot.
"Yes," said Elliott.
"And you did it anyways?” said prosecutors.
"Yes," said Elliott.
Family of the 22-year-old is pushing for probation as punishment. Elliott's grandmother testified that she had a tough family life. She said Elliott's father died at a young age, that she had an abusive stepfather, that her mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that she lived with a friend to finish high school.
Elliott said she used drugs and alcohol to cope. She testified that she was working to get clean after police found drugs like meth, heroin, and a three-pound bag of marijuana in the home where she was living five months before the crash. She testified they were her boyfriend's drugs, and that he was a drug dealer, even though she did use them.
Prosecutors pointed out that Elliot was out on bond from those drug charges at the time of the crash.
"As soon as the accident happened I knew I made the worst decision ever," Elliott testified.
Her family testified that they feel she can change people's lives by sharing her story. Elliott said one man, who is a stranger, has attended the trial this week, saying he has changed his way of life after hearing about the crash.
"I think she will talk to people, I think she will use this to help other people, she's not a bad person, she made a horrible decision, and it was a horrible mistake, and it caused a horrible outcome," said Jamie Haynes, Elliot's ex-boyfriend's mother.
“I just wanted to go and help, I just wanted to make sure they were okay," Elliott said about her immediate reaction after the crash.
Guerrero was the only survivor in their vehicle at the crash. On the first day of Elliott's trial, Guerrero, now 25, cried and said, "I’ll never be the same, never, their will never be another normal, this is always something that’s going to be there, my heart will always be broken, I will always love him, and our son, and I will always want them back, and this will always hurt."
“I just want to say to the victims that I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. I know that an apology doesn't do much. I pray for forgiveness every day," said Elliott said in court Thursday.
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KVUE's Christy Millweard is reporting live from the courtroom: