Death penalty for J’can convicted in mother-daughter stabbing in Pennsylvania
PENNSYLVANIA, United States (AP) — A Pennsylvania jury has decided on the death penalty for a Jamaican man convicted in the stabbing deaths of a woman and her 16-year-old daughter.
Lancaster County prosecutors say 40-year-old Leeton Thomas broke into a basement apartment and stabbed 44-year-old Lisa Sheetz and her daughter Hailey because they were scheduled to testify against him in a child sex assault case.
Thomas was convicted Tuesday of two counts of first-degree murder after 2 ½ hours of jury deliberation.
The surviving daughter, now 17, identified Thomas in the June 2015 attack during trial. His defense attorney argued there were discrepancies in testimony and physical evidence.
LNP newspaper reported Thomas’ mother had begged jurors to spare her son’s life Wednesday, saying “please save him.”
Officials say Thomas will be formally sentenced Friday morning.