BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) – A man has been convicted of first-degree murder for killing two Colorado teenagers who allegedly tried to blackmail him.
Jurors reached the verdict against 43-year-old William Otto in Brighton on Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Otto killed Jonathan Gonzalez and Gustavo Espinosa-Gamboa after they allegedly asked for money for a cellphone video showing him asking to perform a sexual act on one of them.
Defense lawyers said Otto killed them in self-defense. They argued the blackmail attempt didn’t work, so the teens reverted to an original plan to rob Otto and threatened him with a knife.
Investigators say Otto buried the bodies in shallow graves near the Nebraska border.
The Denver Post reports that Otto burned most of the evidence, including the boys’ phones, and the video was never found.
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