Zamora Trial: 'Shoot Her, Kill Her'

Millions of Americans saw her likeness bludgeon 16-year-old Adrienne Jones to death, but Diane Zamora's lawyers are saying she's not guilty.

The sensational Texas murder case that became a dramatic made-for-TV movie is finally getting under way, with courtroom cameras bringing Zamora's chilling, allegedly murderous teen love triangle back to television screens and tabloids across the country.

According to Monday's testimony by Zamora's then best friend, the former Naval Academy cadet urged her boyfriend to kill her romantic rival by screaming "shoot her, kill her, shoot her!"

Kristina Mason also said that days after the killing her friend had confided that the couple plotted to snap Adrianne Jones' neck and dump her body in a lake.

But Zamora said she got agitated and attacked Ms. Jones sooner than the couple had planned, Mason said.

"After they had taken her out to a lake, Diane lost control and began to hit her with a weight over the head," she testified.

She also said that during a late-night conversation at Mason's house, Zamora admitted she demanded that boyfriend David Graham shoot Jones.

Zamora is accused in the slaying of Jones, allegedly carried out in retaliation for a one-time high-school fling she had with Graham. Zamora was a freshman at the Naval Academy and Graham was in his first year at the Air Force Academy when they were charged in September 1996.

According to statements Graham and Zamora have given police, they lured Jones to a secluded road, Zamora hit the girl with a dumbbell weight, then Graham shot her in the head when she tried to flee.

Prosecutors allege that Zamora told several friends and her family about the killing.

Later, Mason testified that amora told her that David had killed the girl to "prove his love."

Defense attorney John Linebarger pressed Mason during cross-examination to explain why she didn't come forward sooner with her testimony and why she at first told a grand jury that she didn't know about Zamora's alleged role in the killing.

"I was scared that she [Zamora] would kill me if I told...or someone would come after me," Mason said.

Linebarger also suggested that Mason might have concocted details of her story after reading a written confession by Graham that was published in a local newspaper.

After several minutes of questioning, State District Judge Joe Drago seemed irritated with the defense, which at times began to ask for details about Zamora's friends.

"At this rate we won't finish during my lifetime," Drago said, urging attorneys to speed up their questioning.

Drago also upheld several prosecution objections saying that the questions were irrelevant or would force Mason to speculate.

Early Monday, prosecutors used their opening statements to portray a cold and calculated plot allegedly carried out by Zamora and Graham.

"Like a puzzle whethe pieces are fit together you will see a brutal and senseless murder committed by this woman and her boyfriend." said assistant prosecutor Michelle Hartman.

Hartman emphasized that after the killing Zamora went on with life as usual, going to school, scoring well on tests and dating Graham.

Linebarger told jurors that physical evidence from the crime scene would contradict the prosecution's allegations. He portrayed Zamora as a caring woman focused on her family and academics.

Linebarger said Zamora and Graham became involved while she was hospitalized after a car accident. He said that the girl's parents weren't able to visit her often because of their work schedule and Graham was her only support.

"During that time he became her mother, her father and ultimately her lover," Linebarger said.

Linebarger also said he will prove that Graham never had sex with Jones as prosecutors have alleged. He did not elaborate.

If convicted, Zamora will receive a life sentence. Prosecutors have opted not to seek the death penalty.

Last week, in her first public comments since her arrest, Zamora testified at a pretrial hearing that she was under duress when she made her alleged confession.

Sobbing and hesitating to take deep breathes, she testified that she gave the statement only after police promised that if she corroborated Graham's confession, they would bring him to her.

Drago ruled without elaboration that the confession may be used by prosecutors.

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