LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orlando twin was found guilty Thursday afternoon of a double murder. A jury found that Dante and his twin brother, Donte, raided a Eustis house party in 2006 and murdered two people.
Dante Hall could now face the death penalty.
"The defendant is guilty of first-degree murder," a clerk read in court Thursday.
Dante Hall sat expressionless as the Lake County jury found him guilty of murder. Now, the main task for his attorneys is to save the 25-year-old's life.
It's already too late for Anthony Bernard Blunt and Kison Evans, the two men Hall is convicted of killing. Kison's mother, Mary Evans, embraced prosecutor Bill Gross as he left the courtroom.
"It been hard, real, real hard. ... But, justice has been served," Mary said.
It took jurors a day and a half to reach their guilty verdict in Dante Hall's trial. But after two previous mistrials and a postponement, the victims' families were used to waiting.
Thursday, jurors confirmed what the victims' families already believed: Dante Hall was among a group of armed robbers that stormed a Eustis house party on September 9, 2006. That group included Dante's identical twin brother, Donte Hall.
But, unlike his twin, jurors do not believe that Dante fired a weapon, a detail Dante Hall's defense team hopes will keep him from joining his brother on Florida's death row.
"That's going to be emphasized tomorrow that, in comparison to his brother's culpability or participation in the murder, his is significantly different," defense attorney Michael Graves said.
If Dante Hall's attorneys are unsuccessful Friday they could be the first identical twins in the nation on death row.
Previous Stories: March 23, 2010: Double Murder Jury Pushes Back Deliberations March 22, 2010: Defense Calls Witnesses In Double Murder Trial March 15, 2010: Twin In Murder Case On Trial For 4th Time
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