Tuesday, July 6, 2021
A Hays County jury handed down a guilty verdict to Jimmy Lee Rhodes following a week’s worth of testimony alleging Rhodes knowingly and intentionally killed his former wife, Christina Anderson.
Closing arguments took place Tuesday in the 274th District Court between Erika Price, Assistant Criminal District Attorney for Hays County, and defense attorney John Evans.
Evans pleaded with jurors to find Rhodes innocent, suggesting the shooting was unintentional due to drugs and alcohol. Speaking to the jurors, he said you had only one of two choices in the case murder or not murder.
“The one thing that’s important is the bit of testing that came from Mrs. Baxter from the Department of Public Safety,” said Evans. “She talked about the combination of drugs present in the data that might lower inhibitions and might have you do something we wouldn’t normally do.”
“Ma’am are you there? Ma’am are you there? Ma’am are you there?”
That was the question 911 operators asked urgently and often when trying to reach Christina Anderson of Wimberley. On Feb. 9, 2017 Anderson called authorities concerned for her safety at the hands of partner Jimmy Rhodes, according to police records. A short time later, when authorities arrived, Anderson was found dead on the couple’s terrace from a gunshot wound to the head.
Opening testimony began Tuesday, in the 274th District Court, where Rhodes has been charged for the murder of Anderson. Erika Price, Assistant Criminal District Attorney for Hays County, had a host of witnesses as the trial began.