HOUSTON - Sentencing is set to begin Monday in a headline grabbing murder-for-hire trial.
On Friday, Leon Jacob was found guilty of hiring a hit man to kill his and his girlfriends’ exes.
He was originally charged along with Montrose veterinarian Valerie McDaniel, who committed suicide after the arrests.
Prosecutors say Jacob wanted his ex-girlfriend out of the picture because she had accused him of stalking and assaulting her. McDaniel, on the other hand, was dealing with a child custody battle with her ex-husband.
During the trial, the jury learned that the “hit man” the couple hired was actually an undercover officer who recorded 14 conversations with Jacob during the investigation.
The jury deliberated just over an hour before delivering a guilty verdict on both counts of solicitation of capital murder.
“The fact of the matter is the tapes pretty much put the man in the line of fire as far as a guilty verdict, and his explanation didn’t satisfy the jury,” said KHOU 11 Legal Analyst Gerald Treece.
Treece says the extremely short jury deliberation sends a clear message.
“I just think it’s going to be a bad week for the defense this week. No matter what happens, it’s going to be a bad week, because the jury that convicted is the jury that sentences,” he explained.
However, defense attorney George Parnham already had a sentence in mind after the verdict came in Friday.
“Based on his background, he is a good candidate for probation,” said Parnham.
Prosecutors, on the other hand, will be advocating for a sentence of life in prison.
RELATED: