ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A jury has convicted an Arizona inmate of capital murder in the killings of an Oklahoma couple who crossed paths with him and two other fugitives on a New Mexico highway.
The verdict was reached Monday after the monthlong trial of John McCluskey.
He also was found guilty of carjacking and other charges in the August 2010 deaths of Gary and Linda Haas of Tecumseh, Okla.
McCluskey could be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty.
The charred remains of the retired couple were found among the wreckage of their burned-out travel trailer on a remote ranch in eastern New Mexico.
The Haases were killed three days after McCluskey and two other inmates escaped from a prison near Kingman, Ariz. Witnesses testified the couple was targeted for their truck and travel trailer.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
A federal jury has reached a verdict in the case of an Arizona prisoner accused of killing an Oklahoma couple while on the lam.
A clerk for U.S. District Court in Albuquerque says the verdict will be read at 4 p.m. MDT Monday.
Jurors were in their second day of deliberations in the capital murder case against John McCluskey in the August 2010 deaths of Gary and Linda Haas of Tecumseh, Okla.
The retired couple was abducted from a highway rest stop in New Mexico after McCluskey and two other inmates escaped from a prison near Kingman, Ariz.
The couple's charred remains were found in their burned-out trailer on a remote ranch in eastern New Mexico.
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