Jury deciding trial of woman accused of killing 2

BENTON — Jurors in southern Illinois' Franklin County are deliberating in the murder trial of a woman accused in the shooting deaths of two women in their West Frankfort home.

The jury began their closed-door discussions Tuesday morning in the case of 21-year-old Afton Ferris.

Ferris is charged along with her 30-year-old former boyfriend, Michael Schallert, in the 2009 killings of Kandis Majors and Terri Seibeck. Witnesses have testified both victims were shot repeatedly.

The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports Ferris testified Monday that she at first told police she was the gunman, looking to deflect blame from Schallert. But she now calls Schallert "a thieving, lying scoundrel" who used her and did the killing.

Schallert has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in September.