Einhorn guilty of murdering girlfriend

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham speaks to reporters after the Einhorn verdict announcement.

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RESOURCES CNN: Timeline of key events  RELATED • Jeffrey Toobin: 'Bad facts' sealed Einhorn verdict  • Court TV.com: The Einhorn case  Philly.com: A look back at the Einhorn case

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A jury Thursday found former hippie guru Ira Einhorn guilty of murdering his girlfriend 25 years ago and stuffing her mummified corpse in his closet.

Einhorn, who once socialized with celebrities, now faces a sentence of life in prison without parole for the first-degree murder conviction.

The 62-year-old former counterculture leader was found guilty of first killing Holly Maddux, whose mummified remains were found in 1979 in a trunk in the apartment they had shared.

Einhorn maintained his innocence and hid out in Europe for nearly 17 years. He had denied killing Maddux, and contended the body was placed there by someone trying to frame him.

The verdict was read after just two hours of deliberations by the jury, which received the case after closing arguments were made Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier this week, Einhorn took to the stand to defend himself, an unusual move for murder defendants. Einhorn testified for the first time on Monday, saying the discovery of his dead girlfriend "ripped me to pieces."

Ira Einhorn and his attorney, William Cannon, stand in the courtroom as the jury foreman reads the verdict.

"I went somewhere to cry. I was really upset," he said.

"I couldn't believe that was Holly in my trunk. It was an impossible situation. I broke up for days. It ripped me to pieces."

Einhorn said he last saw the 30-year-old Maddux on September 11, 1977. He was taking a bath in the Philadelphia apartment they shared.

Einhorn was charged in his girlfriend's death, but weeks before his trial was to have begun in 1981 he fled the United States for Europe. He eventually settled in France, where he was arrested in 1997. Eventually, in July 2001, he was extradited to the United States for his long-delayed trial in Philadelphia.

Einhorn claimed the CIA framed him for his girlfriend's murder because he had knowledge of a mind-control weapon.

-- CNN Correspondent Jason Carroll contributed to this report.

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