A man in New Jersey has been convicted of the triple murder of a college student and two young children after he broke into a home and bound and tortured six victims in a rage over a Facebook post.
Jeremy Arrington, 31, was found guilty of 28 charges on Saturday, including three counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, burglary, criminal restraint and weapons charges, over the brutal home invasion turned killing rampage back in November 2016.
Arrington stabbed Aerial Little Whitehurst, 8, and Al-Jahon Whitehurst, 11, to death and then shot and killed Syasia McBorroughs, a 23-year-old college student.
The children’s 29-year-old mother and 13-year-old twins – a boy and a girl – were also stabbed in the savage attack but survived, reported NJ.com.
Essex County prosecutors said in a 2016 press conference that Arrington targeted the family home in Newark when he saw that one of the victims had shared a police alert on Facebook identifying him as a suspect in a previous shooting and sexual assault.
Armed with a gun, the 31-year-old broke into the home in the middle of the day and tied up and tortured all six people inside, prosecutors said.
Arrington tortured the victims by stabbing them all with kitchen knives before shooting dead Ms McBurroughs.
The horrific ordeal finally ended when the twin girl managed to escape and call 911 from a closet as she hid, authorities said.
Arrington fled the scene before officers arrived on the scene of the bloodbath, where the victims were rushed to hospital.
Ms McBurroughs was pronounced dead at the scene while the two young children died in hospital.
The 23-year-old did not live at the address and was just visiting the family at the time of the attack.
Arrington was arrested sometime later following a standoff at another home in Newark.
The 31-year-old faces life in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for 8 April.
Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justice Edwab said in a statement that he hoped the verdict would bring some justice to the victims’ families.
“We are forever grateful to the courageous survivors and witnesses who testified as well as the investigative personnel who helped bring this defendant to justice,” he said.
“Hopefully this verdict will bring some form of justice to all of the families and friends affected by this defendant’s horrific actions.”
