OXFORD, N.C. — The sentencing phase for a Texas man convicted of killing a North Carolina couple is set to begin Monday morning.
Eric Campbell, 24, of Alvin, Texas, faces the death penalty after being convicted last month of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Jerome Faulkner, 73, and Dora Faulkner, 62.
Campbell was also found guilty of first-degree burglary, second-degree arson, robbery with a dangerous weapon, larceny of a motor vehicle, financial card theft, identity theft and two counts of cruelty to animals.
West Virginia State Police arrested Campbell and his father, Edward Campbell, in Greenbrier County.
Edward Campbell later killed himself in prison.
The sentencing phase was put on hold for the last few weeks to allow travel time for witness impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Since Campbell is from Texas, his attorney indicated his family and friends would travel from Texas to North Carolina to testify.
The Faulkners were stabbed to death inside their Granville County, NC home on New Years Eve 2014. The Campbells put their bodies inside a stolen truck, set their house on fire, then drove off.
During the trial, the defense claimed Eric Campbell suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They said his father was extremely abusive and lured him in to going on the multi-state crime spree.
Prosecutors told the jury Eric made the deliberate and conscious choice to go on the trip. They said the killings were not the result of one person’s actions and that it was a two-person job.
The trial was delayed for about a month after a juror got into a car accident. The judge allowed her a few weeks to recover from the crash. When jurors reconvened, they only took a few hours to convict Campbell of the crime.
The same trial jury will decide if Campbell should be put to death.
Monday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.