Jury: death for man who killed girlfriend’s teen children

CLEVELAND (AP) — A jury has recommended a death sentence for an Ohio man convicted of killing his girlfriend’s two teenage children.

Prosecutors said the teens intervened during an altercation between 30-year-old Matthew Nicholson and their mother about texts she’d received from an old boyfriend and were shot in the back while trying to flee.

Cleveland.com reports a jury in Cleveland on Friday recommended death for Nicholson in the slayings of 19-year-old Giselle Lopez and 17-year-old Manuel Lopez Jr. at their family’s Garfield Heights home last year.

A judge has the final say on whether to sentence Nicholson to death, with a decision coming next month.

Nicholson’s attorney says Nicholson had a violent father who abused his mother, and said untreated brain injuries from a car crashes may have affected his decision-making.

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Information from: cleveland.com, http://www.cleveland.com