Justin Wirth, the 20-year-old accused of killing a Riverdale High School classmate and the boy’s mother in 2012, was convicted Thursday afternoon at the Lee County Justice Center.
Closing arguments wrapped up around midday, and the jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning its guilty verdict on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery.
He’ll be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. on May 9.
Wirth’s friend, Clayton Combs, testified against him in exchange for a 40-year prison sentence. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday morning, and the defense decided not to call any witnesses — including Wirth — to the stand.
Many had wondered if Wirth would testify after Combs — also accused of murdering Dalton Haley and his mother, Amy Lorah, inside their Lehigh Acres home — told the jury Wednesday how he and Wirth decided to kill the mother and son to steal a safe they believed contained drugs and cash.
The defense countered by saying Wirth, who was 16 at the time of the murders, was intimidated by detectives who didn’t allow him to speak with his parents.