A Lafayette jury found a man guilty in connection with two murders where the victims were separately shot and burned inside cars in 2016.Ìý
The jury deliberated for about four hours Thursday after a nearly two-trial. They unanimously found Joshua Willis guilty on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of 23-year-old Ashley Metz and a second-degree murder charge of 22-year-old Brouklynn Hill.Ìý
The 39-year-old did not react as the jury's verdict was read. Family members sitting behind him in the 15th Judicial District Courthouse quietly cried.
After the verdict, Metz's mother, Carla Dean, thanked God, Assistant District Attorneys Alan Haney and Roya Boustany and their team.
"This is the best Mother's Day present because now she (her daughter) can rest," Dean said. "(Willis) got what he deserved."
The first-degree and second-degree murder convictions each carry a life sentence. One of his defense attorneys, Kerry Cuccia, told Judge Laurie Hulin, who oversaw the case, his team would likely file for a new trial, but did not indicate on what grounds.Ìý
A sentencing date, when Metz and Hill's families can give victim impact statements and Willis' family can give support statements, is scheduled for June 13.Ìý
Willis’s nephew, 29-year-old Joseph Sylvester, was also charged in Metz and Hill’s deaths and took a plea deal in the case in 2021. Sylvester testified against Willis earlier in the trial, in exchange for a possible sentence reduction.
As part of the state's case, prosecutors presented Sylvester's testimony, cell phone data, recorded jail calls and evidence found at Willis' home, including a gun that a ballistic analyst testified matched casings and a bullet found at one of the crime scenes.Ìý
The defense's evidence included recorded jail calls from Sylvester that may have indicated he lied on the witness stand, and experts who disputed the analysis and presentation of the state's DNA and cell phone evidence.Ìý
This is a developing story.
