PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The jury has reached a guilty verdict in the trial of a Shadyside man who is accused in the fatal stabbing of his neighbor back in May of 2008.

Terrance Andrews, 41, is charged in the death of 18-year-old Lisa Maas. She was stabbed with a pair of scissors.

Closing arguments in the case were held on Thursday, and then jury deliberations got under way. They continued this morning.

This afternoon, the jury reached a verdict of guilty of first degree murder and burglary. He has been sentenced to life in prison.

His lawyer says Andrews tried to get psychiatric treatment just days before the murder but was turned away at Western Psych.

Police say Andrews admitted to the murder when officers arrived on the scene three years ago.

While giving a tearful victim impact statement, Laura Mass, the victim’s mother, referred to the defendant as “vile scum” and said that while she empathized with those suffering from mental illness, the illness was not a free pass to kill.

Neil Rosen, attorney for the family as it pursues a civil suit against Western Psychiatric Hospital, says now that the criminal case is finished he hopes to examine more mental health records previously unavailable to him.

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