She was arrested in February 2010 after allegedly hiring a hitman for $5,000 to kill her son-in-law, David Keiter, and set fire to the office of attorney James Peifer.
Houston faced two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, aggravated arson, attempted aggravated murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated arson and conspiracy to commit arson, according to court documents.
A pre-sentencing hearing will take place in April.
During closing arguments Monday, Prosecutor Dan Driscoll said the video and audio recordings collected by two of Houston’s friends-turned-informants, Jim Corbett and Anthony Leedy, and an undercover BCI officer who she allegedly hired to kill Keiter leave no room to question her guilt.
“You’ve seen Deborah Houston hand that money over. You’ve seen Deborah Houston hand over those photos,” Driscoll said. “You’ve seen Deborah Houston smile and laugh while she’s talking about having her son-in-law killed.”
The undercover officer in conjunction with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office staged Keiter’s death and then arrested Houston.
Defense attorney James Lagos said law enforcement did not outline any boundaries for its informants, who he said pushed Houston to hire a hitman. He cited pieces in the audio recordings where Corbett and Leedy allegedly lie to Houston to enrage her into action.
He called the case an “enhanced formed of entrapment.”
“The very idea that Deborah Houston would be able to find a hitman and (hire) him and arrange for him to kill her son-in-law is absolutely and totally and completely ludicrous,” Lagos said.
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