CLAYTON – Lanora Arnold thought the house was vacant.

She was high on meth and carrying a gun that had just killed a man.

She checked the front door handle. It was unlocked.

"I went in," she told jurors this week. "I was freaking out. I went in to gather myself, figure out what just took place."

First, she used the bathroom. Under the sink, she found a brand new box of tampons, and realized that someone lived in the Pagedale home. She hid the gun.

"In my high mind, I didn’t want anybody to walk into this home and I have a pistol," said Arnold, now 42. "So, I placed it in the laundry basket."

Dozens of murder charges are filed in St. Louis County every year, but few make it to trial where all the evidence is laid out publicly for the first time. This week, Arnold stood trial on charge

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