Crime & Safety

Joseph Thomas Found Guilty Of Murder, Rape Of Annie McSween

Thomas' punishment, which could be the death penalty, will be decided during a hearing that begins next week

After a day and a half of deliberation, a jury found Joseph Thomas guilty of the murder, rape and kidnapping of Annie McSween.

Thomas, 28, did not speak in court while the judge read the jury's verdict. However, he did protest as the Lake County sheriff's deputies escorted him from the court in handcuffs.

"I didn't do this (expletive deleted,)" Thomas said.

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Thomas was also convicted on charges of tampering with evidence and aggravated robbery. All totalled, he was convicted of 11 felony counts.

Thomas' punishment, which could be the death penalty, will be decided during a second hearing that is slated to begin Wednesday in Lake County Common Plea Judge Richard Collins Jr.'s courtroom.

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McSween, 49, was tending bar at Mario's Lakeway Lounge in Mentor-on-the-Lake on Nov. 26, 2010 and closed the bar by herself.

But she did not make it home that night. Instead, her body was found in a wooded area behind a house that is next door to the bar. She had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly, according to the medical examiner.

Thomas, who was at the bar that night, was arrested and charged with her death after authorities found McSween's burnt clothes in a barrel behind the Mentor-on-the-Lake home where he lived at the time of the murder.

Thomas' defense attorneys argued that -- because the clothes were not discovered until April 2011 -- they could have been left there by someone else after Thomas moved out.

The convictions come after two weeks of evidence and, before that, another two weeks of jury selection.

This is the first capital murder trial in Lake County in more than a decade.

More trial coverage:

Jury Begins Hearing Evidence in Joseph Thomas Murder Trial

Prosecutor: Clothes of Murder Victim Annie McSween Found in Suspect's Backyard

Patrons of Mario's Lakeway Lounge Testify About the Night Annie McSween was Murdered

Suspect's Neighbor Recalls Burn Barrel Incident Hours After Annie McSween Was Murdered

Jury Sees Police Interviews Of Murder Suspect Joseph Thomas

Ex-Girlfriends Of Suspect Testify At Trial

Defense Presents Its Witnesses At Joseph Thomas Trial


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