A Lancaster County District Court jury has found 16-year-old Alisha Ochoa not guilty of killing her mother and half sister.

The jury deliberated about five hours Friday before issuing its ruling.

The North Platte teen had been charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder in the May 17 deaths of 38-year-old Lori Solie and 5-year-old Tiara Solie. Her trial began Monday.

Lincoln County public defender Bob Lindemeier, who represented Ochoa, said he was surprised by the jury's decision.

"I'm kind of overwhelmed right now," he said soon after the verdict was read.

"Her family is just ecstatic right now," Lindemeier added. "Hopefully she can get back to living a normal life."

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning says he trusts the judicial process and accepts the verdict handed down.

Bruning's office prosecuted the case. He says nothing can bring back the victims but there is some solace that Michael Grandon will pay for the crime.

Prosecutors have said Ochoa helped her boyfriend, 19-year-old Michael Grandon, kill her relatives, then fled with him in Lori Solie's black 2006 Ford Mustang. They were arrested at gunpoint after crashing the car in Wyoming.

Grandon has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and aiding a first-degree murder in hopes of avoiding the death penalty. The 19-year-old also agreed to testify against Ochoa, but he was not called to the stand.

Corey O'Brien, an assistant attorney general, told jurors Monday that forensic evidences shows Ochoa participated in the killings.

"The claim that Alisha Ochoa didn't want to get involved just does not add up," he said.

Ochoa testified Thursday that her abusive boyfriend killed her mother and half sister as she stood by in a state of shock.

"I just shut down," Alisha Ochoa she said in court.

On the day of the killings, Ochoa testified, Grandon told her he was going to kill her mother, but she thought he was joking. He then ordered her to choke her half sister to death, she testified.

When she wouldn't hurt Tiara Solie, Grandon strangled the 5-year-old and stabbed her in the heart with a kitchen knife, Ochoa said.

A short time later, as Ochoa was sitting in the living room, Grandon beat her mother with a baseball bat, she testified.

The trial was moved to Lancaster County District Court after a judge in Lincoln County ruled that pretrial publicity may have tainted the jury pool there. Juror questionnaires showed many potential jurors had already decided the girl's fate.