Justice has been served. The man who was arrested one year ago for the murder of Gits lead singer Mia Zapata has been found guilty.

More than a decade after Zapatašs dead body was found on the street in Seattle, Jesus C. Mezquia was found guilty of first degree murder in a Seattle Court on Thursday (March 25). The 49-year-old has yet to be sentenced, but hešs expected to serve between 22 and 30 years in prison. No date has been scheduled for sentencing, but it will most likely come in a month.

Seattle police submitted DNA evidence after Zapatašs murder, but were never able to find a genetic match on the National DNA Index until January of last year, when police in Florida added Mezquiašs DNA to the database after he was arrested in his home city of Marathon, Florida. Further evidence showed that Mezquia was in Seattle during the time of Zapatašs murder.

The Gits formed in Ohio back in 1986 and moved to Seattle where they enjoyed local success during all the grunge hype, even though the content of their music was more political and feminist, fitting in more with what were dubbed riot grrrl bands like Bikini Kill and L7.

Her death spawned several benefit efforts including concerts by the likes of Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Nirvana, which were put on to raise money for a private investigator to find Zapatašs murderer. Seattle-based organization Home Alive was also established in the wake of Zapatašs death. Co-founded by Zapatašs friend and 7 Year Bitch drummer Valerie Agnew, Home Alive provides women with affordable self-defense training and raises awareness about violence against women.

- Andre Mihsin