CHARLOTTE — A juror in the trial for the men who stabbed Mary Collins to death in a NoDa apartment is sharing how the 12 of them came to a conviction.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with Channel 9 Crime Reporter Hunter Sáenz, she explains the images that still haunt her and why it took the jury hours to deliberate.
Previous coverage:
- Defense rests case in trial of NoDa woman stabbed to death
- Defendant blames then-girlfriend for killing woman in NoDa apartment
- Suspect denies killing Charlotte woman, testifies about drug use in NoDa murder trial
- Testimony details how Mary Collins’ body was found as murder trial continues
- Body camera footage shown in NoDa murder trial of Mary Collins
- Mother recounts learning daughter’s body was found as NoDa murder trial continues
- 2 men get life in prison without parole for murdering NoDa woman
“Do you still think about this case, do you still think about Mary?” Saenz asked.
“Every day, there hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I don’t think about her,” juror Alyssa Gomez said.
Gomez was one of 12 jurors who convicted Lavi Pham and James Salerno in the brutal murder of 20-year-old Mary Collins.
“They preyed on someone who had a mental deficit, who can’t see red flags like you or I, and they did it with malice,” Gomez said.
It happened in 2020 at an apartment in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood. The jury found both men took part in raping Mary, stabbing her more than 130 times before wrapping her in duct tape and trash bags and stuffing her into a mattress.
For Gomez, she can’t get Mary’s autopsy photos out of her head.
“Seeing the condition of Mary’s body with Lavi’s shirt wrapped around her neck, her pants to her feet, and the duct tape around her mouth. And that doesn’t include the damage done to Mary’s body,” Gomez said.
Gomez says the murder by torture charges were the quickest to decide on, and the reason it took six-and-a-half hours to deliberate was because they wanted to be thorough, and there were discussions on the rape allegations.
“It wasn’t split 50-50, there was a select few. To your point, there was a lot of circumstantial [evidence],” Gomez said.
Those few came around.
During the trial, Pham took the stand, emotional at times, adamant he did not kill Mary.
“What did you think of Lavi Pham’s testimony?” Saenz asked.
“It was hard to believe, the fake tears. And in deliberations we all kind of touched bases on it. We didn’t see him grab one single tissue,” Gomez said.
“You think it was an act?” Saenz asked.
“I do,” Gomez said.
Now, Gomez says she feels honored she was a juror on this trial, letting Mary’s voice finally be heard.
“Although they may not have been heard in the beginning, that we listened,” Gomez said.
“It won’t bring her back unfortunately, but at least they know that the people who did this is not able to hurt anyone else,” Gomez said.
Sáenz also asked Gomez about America Diehl’s testimony. Diehl is charged with concealing a death and has not yet gone to trial herself.
We told you during the trial, Diehl’s testimony mirrored her interview with police in the months after the murder. Gomez says she believes Diehl was genuine.
Pham and Salerno were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The fourth suspect, Kelly Lavery, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder.