A Hidalgo County jury on Tuesday found a San Juan man guilty of murder.

Lamar Lawson was found guilty of murder after two days of deliberations.

Lawson is accused of beating Sonya De La Cruz to death at a McAllen motel in November 2017.

Prosecutors argued Lawson had a sexual encounter with De La Cruz. When De La Cruz attempted to collect money from Lawson, he refused and began to beat her, prosecutors say.

Lawson's attorneys say he hit De La Cruz in self-defense after she tried to attack him with a knife.

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