On Aug. 15, Malinda Jones, the last of three defendants charged with the murder of UCSB graduate student Jarrod Davidson, was found guilty of first-degree murder.

The Grover Beach resident – Davidson’s former mother-in-law – was found guilty of helping her husband, Philip Jones, shoot and kill Davidson in front of his Goleta apartment.

Malinda Jones did not testify during her month-long trial, but her husband Philip Jones, who pleaded guilty to the murder earlier this year, spoke on her behalf.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Darryl Perlin said Malinda Jones was found guilty of both charges against her – first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The jury also found her guilty of lying in wait, a charge that implies premeditation was involved in the murder.

Perlin said Malinda Jones is being held in the Santa Barbara County Jail where she will remain until her sentencing trial on Oct. 16.

Malinda Jones is the third defendant accused for the murder of Davidson.

In spring 2005, Kelee Davidson, Jarrod Davidson’s ex-wife, pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and one count of accessory to murder. Kelee Davidson was sentenced to four years in state prison, including time served prior to sentencing.

In December 2005, Philip Jones pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges and lying in wait after admitting that he fired the gun that killed Davidson. Philip Jones, who suffers from inoperable lung cancer, is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.