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A man who admitted strangling Sherlyn Marjorie and binding her head, hands and ankles with tape in 2023 was convicted by a jury Monday of first-degree murder and four counts of tampering with evidence.

Jurors apparently sided with prosecutors who argued that Jose Mendoza Espinoza, 30, had planned to kill the transgender woman and took steps afterwards to hide her body in a drainage tunnel.

Mendoza Espinoza told jurors last week that he killed Marjorie by kneeling on her throat on Sept. 17, 2023, after she attempted to extort money and physically attacked him during a sexual encounter.

The first-degree murder conviction requires Espinoza to serve 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. His sentencing hearing before 2nd Judicial District Judge Emeterio Rudolfo has not been scheduled.

Prosecutors argued Monday that Mendoza Espinoza suffocated the 35-year-old woman by wrapping her head in tape, blocking her airways.

鈥淗e taped her face to suffocate her,鈥� prosecutor Derek Berg said in closing arguments. 鈥淲hy would he then tape her up after (choking her) unless he thought she wasn鈥檛 dead yet. He was trying to make sure she鈥檚 dead.鈥�

Jurors last week viewed autopsy photos showing that Marjorie鈥檚 hands and feet were bound and her head was wrapped with red tape that would have prevented her from breathing. A forensic pathologist testified that she died of asphyxiation, either by strangulation or by suffocation.

Prosecutors also rejected Mendoza Espinoza鈥檚 explanation that he blacked out while fighting with Marjorie and regained consciousness to find himself kneeling on Marjorie鈥檚 neck.

鈥淭he truth is that he didn鈥檛 black out,鈥� prosecutor Jordan Machin told jurors. 鈥淗e just doesn鈥檛 actually want to tell you or anyone what really happened.鈥�

Mendoza Espinoza鈥檚 attorney, Matthias Swonger, asked jurors to reject the prosecution鈥檚 theory that Mendoza Espinoza had planned the killing and instead convict him of a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

鈥淚f this killing was the result of careful thought and consideration, Jose (Mendoza Espinoza) would not have committed this homicide inside his own trailer park,鈥� Swonger said Monday in closing arguments. 鈥淗e wouldn鈥檛 have hid the body close to his own home, less than a mile away, within visual distance of his home.鈥�

Marjorie was last seen the day before her death on Sept. 17, 2023.

A large group of her friends and family members found her body 10 days later in a drainage tunnel under Central at 136th SW just north of the trailer park where Mendoza Espinoza lived with his wife and two sons.

鈥淗is actions after killing Sherlyn (Marjorie) show panic and show a lack of careful consideration,鈥� Swonger told jurors.

Mendoza Espinoza鈥檚 attorneys expressed disappointment with the verdict and said in a written statement they plan to appeal.

鈥淲hile Mr. Mendoza Espinoza admitted killing the victim, this happened only after he was severely provoked, extorted, and threatened,鈥� the defense attorneys said. 鈥淲e do not believe that his actions under these circumstances constitute first degree murder.鈥�

Second Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman cheered the verdict Monday.

鈥淲e will continue to hold violent people accountable to the fullest extent of the law,鈥� Bregman said in a written statement. 鈥淥ur team continues to work extremely hard on difficult cases to bring justice to victims and their family members.鈥�

Swonger told jurors that Marjorie was a transgender woman and Mendoza Espinoza was a bisexual man who had sexual relationships with both men and women outside his marriage. The two had a sexual relationship two or three years, he said.

Marjorie repeatedly extorted money from Mendoza Espinoza and threatened to send sexually explicit photos and videos to his wife if he refused to pay, Mendoza Espinoza testified. The day of her death, Marjorie had demanded $5,000 and became angry after Mendoza Espinoza rejected the demand, he told jurors.

鈥淗e is an ordinary man who is barely making ends meet for his family,鈥� Swonger said of Mendoza Espinoza. 鈥淗e might convince himself that he鈥檇 blacked out to avoid thinking about this terrible thing that he鈥檚 done.鈥�

Swonger also suggested that Mendoza Espinoza may have wrapped Marjorie鈥檚 head with tape 鈥渢o avoid looking at the person he just killed, a person who he had a very intense relationship with.鈥�