BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – A New York man has been found guilty of setting a fire that killed two young brothers and severely injured two women, including his ex-girlfriend.
Forty-year-old Dwight Burton was convicted Thursday in a bench trial on arson and first-degree murder charges in the deaths of 3-year-old Michael Maxwell and his 4-year-old brother, Joshua, at their Johnson City home. The boys' mother, Erica Kurtz, and Burton's ex-girlfriend, Jessica Baxter, suffered severe burns.
Authorities say Burton set the fire early on Oct. 19, 2015.
Prosecutors say he wanted to kill Baxter. His attorney focused on inconsistent witness accounts at trial but didn't dispute the fire was arson.
Burton is being held in jail pending his sentencing Sept. 14.
He faces a maximum of life in state prison on the murder conviction.
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