CHARLOTTE — A jury convicted Lavi Pham and James Salerno of first-degree murder and related charges in the 2020 killing of Mary Collins, and both men were sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jurors found each man guilty of first-degree murder by torture, first-degree murder with premeditation and deliberation, first-degree kidnapping and concealing a death. The verdicts came Oct. 12 after deliberations in Mecklenburg County. Collins was 20 when she was lured to a NoDa apartment in March 2020, prosecutors said. They told jurors she was restrained and sexually assaulted before being stabbed more than 130 times. Prosecutors said her body was bound with duct tape, wrapped in trash bags and placed inside a mattress. The defense teams disputed the prosecution’s account of responsibility. Salerno’s attorney argued that his client had no personal reason to harm Collins. Pham’s attorney blamed Pham’s then-girlfriend, Kelly Lavery, for the killing, telling jurors Collins had not been confined or restrained before Lavery “decided to go crazy that night.” Prosecutor Monica Noble urged jurors to keep Collins’ experience in view, saying, “Do not lose sight of Mary’s voice.” The guilty verdicts resolved the jury’s task of deciding whether the state had proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.