MMA’s War Machine Found Guilty Of Kidnapping, Sexually Assaulting Christy Mack, Faces Life In The Clink

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After an emotionally charged trial that last two weeks, former MMA fighter dubbed War Machine has been found guilty by a Las Vegas jury of kidnapping and sexually assaulting his porn star ex-girlfriend, but the jury remains deadlocked on whether he attempted to murder her.

The 35-year-old Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver was convicted on 29 counts on Monday, and faces up to life in prison at sentencing in June.

The victim, 24-year-old Christy Mack, spent eight hours on the witness stand, sobbing as she said she was beaten, raped and threatened with death by Koppenhaver in the months before the final assault–which resulted in a lacerated liver, a broken nose, missing teeth and a fractured eye socket.

According to the NY Daily News, Koppenhaver’s attorney Jay Leiderman leaned on the “road rage” and “mood swing” defense and conceded that his client was guilty of beating Mack during their relationship, but said that he was not guilty of attempted murder and sexual assault charges.

The jury began deliberations Friday, but could not decide on a verdict for the attempted murder charges before announcing its decisions on Monday afternoon.

[h/t NY Daily News]

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Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.