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Levin found guilty of 1st degree murder

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June 6th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A jury has returned a guilty verdict in the trial of a northwest Iowa man accused of killing his mother and kidnapping another woman. The Messenger in Fort Dodge reports a Webster County jury on Thursday convicted 21-year-old Kirk Levin of first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Marilyn Schmitt. He also was found guilty of third-degree kidnapping in the case of Jessica Vega, a woman he met online. Jurors deliberated for about two hours. Sentencing is scheduled for July.

Charles Kenville, Levin’s attorney, had argued the state failed to prove Schmitt’s death was premeditated. Assistant Iowa Attorney General Doug Hammerand said it was an intentional act. Levin’s trial began Tuesday, and included testimony from Vega and a law enforcement official who later found Schmitt’s body.