Hagatna (Guam) (AFP) — A Guam man was found guilty Monday of killing three Japanese tourists and injuring 11 more during a frenzied knife attack in the Pacific island nation last year.
Chad Ryan De Soto had pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and 11 of attempted murder by reason of insanity, but a jury convicted him after a seven-week trial that included two weeks of deliberations.
De Soto, 22, faces the prospect of life without parole when he is sentenced on September 25.
He has never provided an explanation for the night attack on February 12, 2013, when he plowed his car into people in the tourist district of Tumon, then leapt from the vehicle and attacked bystanders at random with a knife in each hand.
All of the victims were Japanese, including an eight-month-old baby and three-year-old toddler who both survived.
De Soto showed no emotion when judge Anita Sukola read out the jury verdict, although his mother Rae De Soto and girlfriend Reanne Acasio were both in tears.
More than 100 witnesses testified during the trial. Victims of the attack are expected to address the court at his sentencing hearing.
AFP Photo
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