/ Source: The Associated Press
A jury foreman says a Missouri man who pleaded guilty to killing three members of a Texas farm family was spared the death penalty because of a single juror.
Jurors on Tuesday sentenced 27-year-old Levi King to life in prison without parole for the 2005 slayings of 35-year-old Michell Conrad; her husband, 31-year-old Brian Conrad; and her 14-year-old son, Zach Doan. Michell Conrad was six months pregnant.
Jurors in a capital murder case must be unanimous for a defendant to receive the death penalty.
Foreman Tommy Jones told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on Wednesday that one woman on the jury could not support capital punishment for King, who pleaded guilty last month. Jones said he was flabbergasted that a death sentence was not the outcome.