A jury in McKinney has found Enrique Arochi guilty of aggravated kidnapping in connection to the disappearance of Christina Morris.
There was no reaction from Arochi as the verdict was read Wednesday night. After Arochi was escorted from the courtroom, Morris' family embraced.
The jury announced the decision after more than 24 hours of deliberation.
Christina Morris' mother, Jonni McElroy, silently walked to her car after she left the courthouse following the verdict. As reporters walked with her, she indicated her thoughts with a simple pump fist into the air.
"We can breathe," said Anna Morris, Christina's stepmother, from the steps of the courthouse. "I feel like the right thing happened."
The trial has now moved to the sentencing phase. More evidence is expected to be presented. The judge announced the trial will go into recess until Monday morning.
Morris was last seen in surveillance video with Arochi in a parking garage on the night of Aug. 30, 2014 at The Shops at Legacy in Plano after visiting with friends.
Jury finds Enrique Arochi guilty of aggravated kidnapping in Christina Morris trial https://t.co/5u1w7ZbXbC pic.twitter.com/lIZzwnGjVg
— WFAA-TV (@wfaachannel8) September 22, 2016
Since her disappearance, there have been exhaustive searches for Morris but no sign of her whereabouts.
On Tuesday, both the defense and state presented their closing arguments to the jury. While Arochi's attorney, Keith Gore, argued police solely focused their attention on his client, the state said three pieces of evidence proved Arochi's guilt — cellphone pings, surveillance video from the garage and DNA evidence.