Woman Convicted in 'Stiletto Murder' Says Slain Boyfriend Was Abusive
Ana Trujillo told "20/20" Stefan Andersson attacked her first.
April 8, 2014— -- Ana Trujillo, the woman found guilty of murdering her boyfriend in the so-called "stiletto murder," told ABC News' 20/20 in an exclusive interview that he was abusive and attacked her on the night she beat him to death with her shoe.
"I only did what I needed to do," Trujillo told "20/20" in an exclusive interview in January. "I just wanted to survive, I just wanted to leave. I never wanted to hurt him, never. If he hadn't have hurt me, I would never hurt him."
It took a Houston jury just over an hour of deliberation today to convict Trujillo, 45, of murdering her boyfriend, Dr. Stefan Andersson of Sweden. Trujillo showed no emotion when the guilty verdict was read and mouthed the words "I love you" to her family as she was led out of the courthouse in handcuffs.
Ana Trujillo Guilty in Houston's 'Stiletto Murder'
Prosecutors accused Trujillo of bludgeoning the 59-year-old University of Houston medical researcher to death by hitting him 25 times in the face, head and arms with the heel of her shoe. The state successfully portrayed Trujillo as self-serving violent woman who lives in her own world. While the defense, which has maintained that Trujillo acted in self-defense, didn't prove to the jury's satisfaction that she was in imminent danger.
Trujillo's attorney Jack Carroll was able to keep her out on bail during the trial, and did not put her on the witness stand. Instead, Carroll and his client chose to allow a three-hour police interrogation tape and her 911 call to be the only time the jury heard from Trujillo.
The case gained international fame because of the unusual murder weapon -- a blue suede closed-toe pump, size 9 with a five-and-a-half inch heel.
During the trial, witnesses described Andersson as kind and mild-mannered. But in her interview with "20/20," Trujillo described him as a heavy drinker who would launch into unexpected, angry rages.
She told "20/20" that the two had been dating for a couple of months and were in love, but when Andersson drank, he would become verbally and physically abusive.
"Sometimes he would drink so much that he would, like, pass out," she said. "All of a sudden, he would wake up, and he would be looking at me, and he would start yelling and screaming ... 'What are you doing? You don't belong here,' he would start yelling at me, things that didn't make any sense to me."
"[Then] he would ask me for forgiveness," Trujillo continued. "He said he was going to change, and, he loved me, and ... I couldn't leave him."
On the night Andersson was killed, Trujillo said the two had been out drinking at a bar, socializing with other patrons, when she told him she wanted to leave early because she was getting up in the morning to see her daughter. When they got back to his apartment, Trujillo said Andersson exploded with anger.
"All of a sudden, he just turned around and he started to tell me that I was leaving him," she said. "And I just said, 'You know, Stefan, you know, I'm just going to leave. I'm just going to go out the hallway and let you calm down a little bit.'"
"He goes, 'You're not going anywhere, you're staying,'" Trujillo continued. "He grabs me by my hands, and he starts to push me against the [kitchen] counter, and then against the other counter ... and we turn around, and he bangs me against the wall."
