Marissa DeVault Trial Update: Closing Arguments Heard in 2009 Hammer Slaying Trial

On Thursday, jurors heard the closing arguments in the Marissa DeVault hammer attack murder trial.

DeVault has been on trial since Feb. 6 at Arizona's Maricopa County Superior Court for the first-degree murder of her husband, Dale Harrell, 34. The 36-year-old mother of three used a claw hammer to bash Harrell's head while he was sleeping in their home on Jan. 14, 2009. He suffered from multiple skull fractures and died almost a month later in a hospice.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that the former stripper killed her husband in order to collect his almost $300,000 life insurance policy and use it to pay off a $360,000 loan to her secret boyfriend. However, defense attorneys maintained that she was a battered wife who killed her spouse in self-defense.

Lawyers were scheduled to make closing arguments Thursday in the trial of the Gilbert woman, reports KPHO.com.

On Tuesday, the defense called their final witness, DeVault's 18-year-old daughter, Rhiannon DeVault Harrell, who told jurors that her family has a tumultuous home life and that her mom was more often on the receiving end of abuse. She also admitted that she was well aware of the affair that her mother was having while her father was alive, reports My Fox Phoenix.

However, she told jurors she didn't remember much from the night of the alleged murder, and that she was awakened when she thought she heard someone crying.

After the defense rested its case, prosecutors recalled some of their witnesses to the stand, including a psychologist who evaluated DeVault.

"I diagnosed her anti-social personality disorder. I also diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder with a specifier of prior history," said Janeen DeMarte.