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Oda ruled Assistant County Prosecutor John Arnold failed to prove Kirby was guilty of the tampering charge alleging she disposed of a purse of the murder victim, Debra Power, 63, on Sept. 15, 2017.
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Kirby’s lawyer, Tamara Sack, agreed she was guilty of the other two lesser charges.
Kirby and her husband Christopher Kirby were arrested after Power, his adoptive sister, and her husband, Ronnie Power, were found at the home they shared in South Lebanon after a 911 call from an 8-year-old boy.
Debra Power died, but her husband survived with serious injuries from a beating allegedly from Christopher Kirby, 38, after the Kirbys were unable to use the Power’s bank card to draw money to buy heroin, according to testimony in the trial.
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Christopher Kirby is facing multiple charges including capital murder and is scheduled for trial later this year.
After the beatings, the Kirbys used Debra Power’s credit cards and a TV taken from Ronnie Power’s room to get heroin they used before being arrested, accordin to testimony in the trial.
On Monday, both sides rested after a video of Jacqueline Kirby’s statement was played, during which she struggled to recall what happened.
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“I was pretty high,” she told detectives who encouraged her to cooperate so she could face lesser charges and get back with her two children.
She was led back to jail after the verdict, but Oda said he wanted her assessed for placement in community-based corrections before deciding her punishment.
She is scheduled for sentencing on March 26.
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