Former U.S. Marine found guilty for death of 11-year-old boy

Former 33-year old U.S. Marine Andre Jackson was found guilty on Tuesday of the death of Josué Flores, an 11-year-old Houston boy who was tortured and stabbed more than 20 times in 2016.

The defense and the prosecution gave their last arguments in the seven-day trial. The jury deliberated for three hours before ruling on the case.

A lab witness who testified during the sixth hearing claimed DNA analysis of extracted from the sleeves of a jacket worn by the accused  that day showed that 85% corresponded to Jackson, 10% to the murdered child 5% to an unknown person.

"My DNA is on that jacket because he killed me," the prosecutor said in his final argument, as if to speak on behalf of Flores, according to Univision.

In total, there were 33 testimonies presented during the trial by the Harris County Prosecutor's Office, including that of the child's mother, María Flores.

The violent incident occurred on May 17, 2016. That morning, Josué kissed his mother goodbye on the way to school.

When he was returning home alone in the afternoon, witnesses heard the boy's cries, begging not to be killed. The neighbors claimed that Josué defended himself and shouted until he was lying on a sidewalk bathed in blood.

An African-American man was seen on the same sidewalk. Authorities initially arrested Che Lajuan Calhoun, 31, but released him two days later when the man was able to verify that he was in another part of Texas when the attack occurred.

The forensic doctor in charge of the child's autopsy said that he received a total of 22 stab wounds. Eighteen of the stab wounds were deep and damaged his aortic artery, as well as the collapse of the lungs and liver.

The most emotional moment of the hearing was when his mother, María Flores, recounted the moment she learned that her son had been stabbed. The father, who was in court, could not hold back his tears.

Back then,  Jackson was arrested as a suspect in the crime but later released due to lack of evidence.