SAN ANTONIO – In January, Anna Marie Jeitani, 40, pleaded guilty to the murder of her husband, Toni Jeitani, 29, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison as part of a plea bargain.
She stabbed her husband 17 times at the couple’s Northwest Bexar County home in December 2013.
During a hearing before District Judge Steve Hilbig on Friday, Jeitani asked for a new trial, claiming that she had ineffective counsel when she agreed to the plea bargain.
“I am not guilty of what they’re saying I did in cold blood,” Jeitani testified. “I am guilty of defending my life and my children's.”
Jeitani said that her lawyers, David Christian and Pat Hancock, only wanted to discuss a plea bargain, not a trial.
“We didn’t talk about trial. We didn’t talk about trial strategy. We didn’t talk about anything like that,” she said.
Christian testified that they went over her case thoroughly and that a plea was in her best interests given the facts of the case.
He denied Jeitani’s statement that she was rushed into agreeing to the plea bargain.
“Other than being under an immense amount of pressure, she was not coerced, threatened or led the wrong way,” Christian testified.
Hilbig denied Jeitani’s motion for a new trial.
Her current lawyer said that he plans to appeal Hilbig’s ruling.