A disruptive scene played out at Anchorage's Nesbett Courthouse Monday afternoon after Anchorage Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby announced that a jury had found 24-year-old Bukurim Miftari guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend Kristen Reid in 2012.
Miftari, frequently referred to as "Buki" by the attorneys -- as well as his family and friends -- was found guilty on all counts, which included charges of kidnapping and tampering with evidence in addition to first-degree murder.
"I feel like my family finally has the closure, and we needed that," said Rayand Jackson, a 21-year-old who called Reid "mom." She said Reid took care of her from the time she was 13.
As Saxby read through the charges and guilty verdicts one by one, tears began falling among Miftari's friends and family members in the courtroom. One of Miftari's supporters turned red in the face, shook her head, cried and moaned, which led to others surrounding her and shouting at members of the media also in the courtroom to not record the incident.
During the outburst, the courtroom was cleared, including the jury and Miftari, who was escorted out. Paramedics, with a stretcher in tow, hurried in to help. Moments later, the woman walked out of the room, with the paramedics trailing close behind.
Miftari and the jury were brought back into the courtroom, but many of his supporters had left. The judge set a sentencing date of April 16, and dismissed the jury.
Miftari's trial lasted three weeks; the jury heard closing arguments Thursday.
On Sept. 17, 2012, an Anchorage police officer discovered Reid lying in a ditch along Fairbanks Street, after a passerby reported Miftari's blue Chevy Tahoe parked and abandoned in the middle of the street.
Reid was nearly naked and had been shot through her left temple. She was taken to a hospital and declared brain dead. Reid was removed from life support three days after the shooting.
Prosecutors had argued that Miftari was driven by jealousy to kill Reid, who they said had been preparing to end her relationship with the then-21-year-old Miftari. Reid, who was 30 when she died, was married to a man in prison and was dealing drugs at the time. The defense argued that her illegal dealings led to her death and that someone had staged the crime scene so it appeared Miftari had killed her.
"I wish I could have told her 'I love you' one more time before I lost her," Jackson said of Reid. "My last text from her, she was telling me that she loved me and that she would see me later on that night, but she never made it."