HOLLIDAYSBURG — The jury that found 31-year-old Nicholas Horner guilty of first degree murder on Tuesday, couldn’t reach an agreement in the sentencing phase late Wednesday night.
The Blair County man, who was a three-tour Iraq war veteran, was convicted of fatally shooting two people during a sandwich shop robbery on April 6, 2009.
The jury told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked over the death penalty after an hour of deliberation.
A formal sentencing hearing is expected in 45 days, but the deadlock means the court will automatically impose a life sentence without parole.
Horner was found guilty of first-degree murder for the shooting death of 19-year-old Scott Garlick, a Subway sandwich shop clerk, and first-degree murder with specific intent for the death of 64-year-old Raymond Williams, who was a bystander.
The defense team had psychologists and character witnesses testify that Horner was severely impaired from the mental and physical trauma of three tours of service in Iraq and was suffering from medically-induced delirium at the time of the crime, as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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