ST. LOUIS (AP) - A St. Louis man has been convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and her mother and setting a fire that killed his own infant son.
A jury convicted Eric Lawson, 32, of first-degree murder on Saturday in the 2012 killings. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the jury will return on Monday to determine whether Lawson will receive the death penalty for killing Breiana Ray, 22, Gwendolyn Ray, 50, and 10-month-old Aiden Lawson.
Several relatives of the Rays, who were watching the verdict from a different courtroom because of coronavirus precautions, pumped their fists when the jury's decisions were announced.
Prosecutors said Lawson entered Breiana Ray's apartment in May 2012 and shot her and her mother both in the head and killed both women. Investigators say he then set two fires in the apartment and locked the door as he exited, trapping his 10-month-old son, Aiden, and a 3-year-old girl who was Breiana Ray's daughter. The baby was found dead; firefighters rescued the girl, who suffered critical injuries.
During a previous attempt to try Lawson's case in 2019, prosecutors and defense lawyers were unable to seat a jury in the case.