The case: On the night of Nov. 3, Jennifer Randel and Donald Rolle went on a date to Butch's Bar in Evansville. The two had been in an on-again, off-again relationship for several years, and Rolle had a history of violence against her. Their date ended abruptly when Rolle, 47, charged a man he suspected was having an affair with Randel, a 40-year-old mother of two. Bar staff members kicked Rolle out and Randel left with him in his truck.

Just after 9:30 p.m., Randel called 911, begging for help. She said was in Rolle's truck and couldn't get away from him.

Police didn't find the truck that night, but the next day, a rancher discovered it stuck in a ditch along a remote road west of Casper. When officers arrived, they arrested Rolle and found Randel's body inside the cab of his red Ford flat-bed. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder and kidnapping, and sought the death penalty.

The trial: The prosecution began the trial with Randel's 911 call and several witnesses from the bar, who testified about Rolle's actions that night. The state later called officers who searched for Rolle on Nov. 3 and apprehended him the next day. Randel's sons also testified they saw Rolle strike their mother in the past.

The state ended its case with testimony from the coroner who performed Randel's autopsy. He told jurors Randel had been beaten, stabbed and strangled. She died when her brain swelled after she was struck multiple times in the head.

Rolle testified on the first day of the defense's case. He admitted to slamming Randel's head into the dashboard and kicking her in the chest as they drove back from the bar. He claimed he only acted after she came at him with a knife. However, his testimony was contradicted by multiple prosecution witnesses.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Michael Blonigen argued Rolle committed premeditated first-degree murder in an attack that likely lasted hours. Defense attorney Vaughn Neubauer contended Randel's death happened much more quickly and amounted to manslaughter.

Jurors took six hours to convict Rolle of first-degree murder and kidnapping.

The penalty phase: To help make its case that Rolle deserved the death penalty, the prosecution presented witnesses to show Rolle was violent toward strangers, as well as the women he dated. The defense called Rolle's sisters, who said he and his siblings suffered abuse at the hands of their mother. The children were punished with hot knives on their tongues and nights in a locked dirt cellar. Rolle also took the stand again, this time to give a 9-minute statement to jurors. He did not apologize for Randel's death, but told the jury he believed in the death penalty and "an eye for an eye."

It took jurors less that three hours to decide Rolle should serve life behind bars rather that be put to death. A juror later said 10 members of the panel wanted to impose the death penalty. However, a sentence of death requires a unanimous decision.

Rolle will be formally sentenced in several weeks and will spend the rest of his life in prison.