By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The fate of "Realtor to the Stars" Linda Stein's accused murderer is now in the hands of a Manhattan jury.
Deliberations in Natavia Lowery's murder trial began just after noon on Tuesday, following a month-long trial that featured testimony from roughly 40 witnesses, including Stein's two adult daughters.
The trial was at times emotional and drama-filled.
On two occasions Lowery attempted to fire her defense team and replace them with a new attorney. Members of Lowery's family were enraged at the judge's decision to require Lowery's three lawyers to proceed with the case, and they were escorted from the courtroom, shouting and calling the ruling "bulls***."
During closing arguments on Monday, Lowery's attorney Thomas Giovanni provided a reenactment of Stein's murder, slapping and stomping on the floor repeatedly to illustrate the brutality of the crime.
The performance was meant to show that the 2007 murder may have been carried out by a larger, stronger person than the 28-year-old woman who served as Stein's personal assistant.
But the show sent Stein's daughter, Samantha Wells, running from the courtroom in tears.
"I'm deeply sorry that I have to do that in front of Mandy Stein," Giovanni said, referring to Stein's youngest daughter, who chased her sister into the hallway.
Lowery is charged with murdering Stein after stealing more than $30,000 by abusing access to her boss's credit card accounts.
She faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder, but a jury may also consider manslaughter, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
