SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia jury began deliberations Thursday night in the trial of three men accused in the Christmas Eve 2005 shooting death of a 19-year-old debutante.

The panel of five men and seven women retired to deliberate after five hours of closing arguments Thursday, in which lawyers on both sides clashed over witness credibility and eyewitness testimony.

Michael Thorpe, 26, is accused of shooting Jennifer Ross in a botched robbery that occurred just hours after she attended her debutante ball. Thorpe's friend, Webster Wilson, 25, is accused of pistol-whipping Ross' friend, Brett Finley. A third defendant, Kevin Huckabee, 21, is accused of driving the getaway car.

All three face life in prison as parties to the crime, regardless of their alleged roles in the incident.

Dressed in a green blazer that belonged to her daughter, Ross' mother, Coren, sat with other family members in a courtroom filled to capacity with relatives of the victims and the defendants.

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In a case with scant forensic evidence, defense lawyers said police and prosecutors "went to bed" with liars, thieves and deal-cutters to resolve the case as quickly as possible.

"The fact is she went to hell to get these witnesses," defense lawyer Richard Darden said of the lead prosecutor. "They all came from the county jail. I guess that's where they slept on their way from hell."

During five days of testimony, the jury heard from several friends of the defendants who testified that the three men admitted their involvement in the crime. At least four of those witnesses appeared in court in jailhouse apparel or shackles because of charges unrelated to this case.

The panel also heard from Thorpe's uncle, who testified that he bought the murder weapon and was part of the plot to carry out the robbery, but that he fled at the last minute.

Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Christy Barker, however, told the jury that the defendants picked their witnesses, whose information was corroborated by police.

"They chose the time and date and manner in which the crime was committed and they choose who they tell about it," Barker said during her closing argument Thursday. "And they are not choosing to tell this to busloads of nuns."

Barker conceded that the witnesses often contradicted themselves, in some cases, backing off their initial statements to police, but insisted they did so out of fear.

The state's key witness, Sean Thorpe, agreed to cooperate with authorities after receiving immunity for his testimony and $1,200 for help in leaving Savannah.

"He's going to spend the rest of his life watching his back," Barker said.

But defense lawyers argued that authorities bent to public pressure to solve the murder and built a case around Sean Thorpe to the exclusion of other suspects.

"This was a high-profile case. They had to arrest someone," Wilson's lawyer Brian Daly, told the panel, which includes four black jurors and one Asian. Ross was white, and the defendants are all black.

"This case got pushed, and I hate to say it, but the evidence shows it," Daly said.

One of Ross' friends initially told police that one of the attackers was white. The witness, Brannen Miles, backed off that claim when he testified last week, claiming that he was not good with faces.

On the other hand, victim Brett Finley testified that the three assailants were black men around 6 feet tall. He was able to pick Sean Thorpe out of a line-up.

During their closings, lawyers for Wilson and Thorpe directed their clients to stand up in the courtroom to show off their more distinguishing characteristics.

"He's 6'4, he's got so many gold teeth in his mouth he can't even shut it, and nobody identified him," Darden said. "That's reasonable doubt."

The verdict will be shown live at Court TV Extra.