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ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) — A jury has convicted a Mississippi man who was declared dead two decades ago only to resurface as a murder suspect.
The Town Talk reports (http://townta.lk/1rwRB1D ) that jurors took just over an hour Monday before finding Thomas Sanders guilty in the kidnapping and slaying of 12-year-old Lexis Roberts.
The penalty phase begins next week. Jurors will decide whether the 57-year-old Sanders will be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.
Prosecutors concluded their case against Sanders on Friday. Defense lawyers called no witnesses after failing to get the case thrown out of federal court.
Roberts' skeletal remains were found off a gravel trail in rural Louisiana in October 2010. The body of her mother, Suellen Roberts, was found later in Arizona. Sanders confessed to killing both.
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Information from: Alexandria Daily Town Talk, http://www.thetowntalk.com
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