Man Faces Death Penalty in Slaying of Five Relatives
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) _ A jury has recommended the death penalty for a 30-year-old man convicted of killing his parents and three other relatives.
Michael Owen Perry, 30, wearing a makeshift tissue paper bandanna around his head, showed no signs of emotion when he was found guilty of five counts of first-degree murder Thursday.
The jury took less than an hour to reach a verdict in the shotgun slayings. It took slightly less than two hours to return the death sentence recommendation.
The jury found Perry guilty of committing murders with the intent to inflict great bodily harm to one or more persons, and in an ″especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner,″ which are two elements required to recommend the death penalty.
Judge Cecil Cutrer set Dec. 19 as the sentencing date. Convictions are automatically appealed when the death penalty is imposed.
Perry was convicted of killing his parents, Chester Perry, 48, and Grace Perry, 47; his nephew, Anthony ″Tony″ Bonin, 2; and his first cousins, Randy Perry, 19, and Brian LeBlanc, 22.
The five were killed July 17, 1983, in Lake Arthur, 100 miles from Baton Rouge. The trial was moved here because no impartial jurors could be seated in Lake Arthur.
The case captured national attention shortly after the slayings when it was reported that Perry was infatuated with singer Olivia Newton-John, who he said was a goddess living under Lake Arthur.
When the verdicts were read in court, relatives of the victims sobbed and clutched one another. Gwen Walker, mother of Randy Perry, collapsed into the arms of her mother.
Earlier Thursday, Perry walked into the courtroom and voiced obscenities at his uncle, Paul Perry, the father of Randy Perry and the brother of Chester Perry.
As prosecutor Steve Laiche began addressing the jury, Michael Perry interrupted him, saying: ″I broke all 10 commandments, and I tell the truth.″
Warned by Judge Cecil Cutrer that he could be removed from the courtroom if he continued his interruptions, Perry said, ″I would appreciate it, sir, if you’d let me leave the courtroom.″
Cutrer denied Perry’s request, and the defendant remained quiet.