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Luis Toledo trial: Jury finds accused killer guilty on murder charges

Luis Toledo, the man accused in the slayings of his wife and two children, was found guilty Friday on on first and second degree murder charges. 

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The jury will return Wednesday for the sentencing phase of the trial.

Toledo was convicted of killing his wife, Yessenia Suarez and her two children in 2013. Their bodies were never found.

"It was justice for Yessenia and Michael and Thalia," said Felecita Perez, Suarez's mother.

He faces the death penalty for the deaths of the children.

Suarez's family became emotional in the courtroom once the verdict was read.

The trial was moved to St. Augustine due to the media attention in Central Florida.

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Toledo was also found guilty on a charge of tampering with evidence. 
Throughout the trial prosecutors argued Toledo was angry over an affair Suarez had with another man. 
The defense argued there was no definitive proof of how the children were killed.
EARLIER: A jury began deliberating Friday morning in a triple murder trial.
The trial was moved to St. Augustine due to the media attention in Central Florida.
Prosecutors said the evidence in the case points to Toledo as the killer.
Relatives of Suarez and her two children, Thalia and Michael Otto, have been waiting since 2013 for closure in the case.
Prosecutors said Toledo’s motive was angry over Suarez's affair.      
"The day before she and the children disappeared, he found out his wife was having an affair," prosecutor Mark Jones said.
The defense played Toledo's recorded confession in court.
"She stopped breathing. She died looking at me," Toledo said in the recording.
The prosecutor talked about how Toledo moved his wife's car, and was seen wiping it down and throwing away the trunk liner.
"These are not the actions of an innocent man. These are actions of someone who know they committed a crime and was trying to cover his tracks," said Johnson.
The jury has had questions about a timeline involving the deaths and if there was a map that shows the dumpers where evidence was placed. The jury has also asked to view more video testimony of when Toledo went to the bathroom to kill himself in 2013, as well as video where he admitted to killing Yessenia and held Michael's head in his hands.
Jurors have been deliberating since about 9:25 a.m. 
The jurors will be sequestered at a hotel if jurors don't reach a verdict Friday night.
A fourth charge the jury will consider is tampering with evidence.
Toledo faces the death penalty if convicted in the children's death. Under new Florida law, a jury must unanimously agree to sentence a person to death.