The 'Creed III' star was found guilty of one count of assault and one count of harassment, but acquitted in two other counts.
The verdict is in on Jonathan Majors' weeks-long domestic violence trial. The Marvel star was found guilty of one count of assault and one count of harassment but acquitted of two other counts in a split verdict Monday.
Majors was found not guilty on one count of intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree. The verdict came after about five hours of deliberations over portions of three days. Jurors began deliberating on Thursday afternoon and had not reached a verdict by the end of Friday.
Judge Michael Gaffey said that Majors' sentencing will be announced on Feb. 6. The 34-year-old actor faces up to a year in jail: third-degree assault is a class A misdemeanor that carries with it a maximum sentence of one year in jail, while second-degree harassment is a violation punishable by up to 15 days in jail.
Majors was ordered to stay away from his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. The Creed III star faced the jury and at one point looked down as the verdicts were being read, an eyewitness tells ET. His girlfriend, Meagan Good, appeared upset.
In a statement to ET, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, "At the Manhattan D.A.'s Office, we are committed to centering survivors in all of our work. The evidence presented throughout this trial illustrated a cycle of psychological and emotional abuse, and escalating patterns of coercion far too common across the many intimate partner violence cases we see each and every day. Today, a jury determined that pattern of abuse and coercion culminated with Mr. Majors assaulting and harassing his girlfriend. We thank the jury for its service and the survivor for bravely telling her story despite having to relive her trauma on the stand."
After numerous delays, the trial first began on Nov. 29, when Majors and 42-year-old Good walked into court hand in hand. Majors also walked in holding a bible. The trial stemmed from a March 25 arrest in which authorities claimed Majors "struck, shoved, kicked and otherwise subjected another person to physical contact thereby causing physical injury to such person and to a family and household member of such person" during an argument in the backseat of a car. Jabbari also claimed he struck her in the face with "an open hand."
When Jabbari took the witness stand, she testified to numerous instances in which Majors allegedly became aggressive and ultimately violent. In one instance, Jabbari recalled allegedly taking a "blow" to the head during a heated argument. The alleged argument stemmed from Majors allegedly texting another woman, leading Jabbari to grab his phone. In attempting to retrieve his phone, Jabbari claimed Majors became physically violent.
"Then I felt a heavy thud on top of me -- it was the weight of his body," she claimed on the stand. "He was trying to pry the phone out of my hands. When that wasn't successful, he took my arm behind my back. I felt excruciating pain. I felt a blow to the right side of my head. I just felt a hard impact to the back of my head. I felt a lot of pain, so I sat back and that's when he got the phone out of my hand. I wasn't focused on the pain though, I was trying to figure out who the woman was."
But the most damning day in court came when the Manhattan District Attorney's Office released in court disturbing text messages and audio recordings detailing what prosecutors alleged showed Majors' erratic and violent behavior. In one of those messages, Majors told Jabbari she needed to act more like Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama.
"Do you really love me? Do you really... Then how dare you come home drunk and disturb the peace of our house when we have a plan," Majors said in the clip.
"I would like to get to the point where your friends know what job I'm on and go 'I think Grace is gonna be out of commission.' Get me?" the actor continued.
"Yeah, I won’t," Jabbari responded.
"No, no, do you understand that? Because that team, that unit, right? Grace has to be of a certain mindset to support — Coretta Scott King, do you know who that is? That’s Martin Luther King’s wife. Michelle Obama, Barack Obama’s wife," Majors said.
One text message -- purportedly sent by Majors in September 2022 -- showed he threatened to kill himself as Jabbari contemplated going to a hospital after allegedly sustaining a head injury during a prior altercation. According to text messages allegedly sent by Majors, prosecutors claimed he did not want her to seek medical help and attempted to dissuade her via text.
"I fear you have no perspective of what could happen if you go to the hospital," Majors wrote. "They will ask you questions and as I don't think you actually protect us it could lead to an investigation even if you do lie and they suspect something."
In a response text, Jabbari wrote, "I will tell the doctor I bumped my head, if I go, I'm going to give it one more day, but I can't sleep and need some stronger painkillers. That's all. Why would I want to tell them what really happened when it's clear I want to be with you?"
Along with the text messages shared by the Manhattan DA's Office, prosecutors also shared photos of injuries Jabbari sustained, allegedly at the hands of her ex.
In one picture, the choreographer appears with a cut behind her ear. Another picture shows a severely bruised finger. The jury was shown an X-ray on Monday of Jabbari’s finger, which had a hairline fracture.
During closing arguments, Majors' attorney, Priya Chaudhry, gave an impassioned closing statement that lasted just over an hour, which she concluded -- while choking back tears -- by imploring the jury to "end this nightmare of Jonathan Majors."
Chaudhry also revisited the video evidence released by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office, which showed surveillance footage of Majors and Jabbari in some sort of scuffle on the street on the day of the alleged incident that led to his arrest in March. Prosecutors had said the footage showed Majors "repeatedly pushing [Jabbari] back into the vehicle with all of his force."
The video footage later showed them exiting the vehicle. After a brief moment on the sidewalk, Majors is seen sprinting away from Jabbari, who chases after him.
"We all just saw it with our own eyes," Chaudhry said in her closing arguments. "He puts her back in the car because they are in the middle of moving traffic. He helps her out of the car. He walks her safely to the sidewalk and then she starts grabbing him again [Chaudhry stomps her foot at this time]. She chases him even in front of moving cars."
Chaudhry added, "You don't get to destroy people's lives with your fantasies. She's a very emotional person. I want to end this nightmare quickly and immediately for Jonathan. Everything she says is belied by the videos. Everything she says is belied by the witnesses."
One of those witnesses was the driver of the car when the alleged altercation went down in March. According to Variety, Naveed Sarwar testified that Majors opened the car door trying to get rid of Jabbari. Sarwar testified that Majors said, "Leave me alone. I want to go. I have to go" and that he was "not doing anything, [Jabbari] was doing everything."
Majors' legal team tried numerous times to get the judge to dismiss the case, but the judge ruled this week that there was sufficient and competent evidence showing Majors and Jabbari were involved in an altercation where she indicated suffering substantial pain.
Reporting by Darla Murray and Taylor Baren.
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