Titusville man convicted in 2 deaths in 2012

requested a pre-sentencing investigation. Once that is complete, Circuit Judge Kelly McKibben will schedule a sentencing hearing.

The judge gave the the case to jurors about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. She allowed them to go home after 5 p.m. The jury was not sequestered, the State Attorney’s Office said.

About 3 p.m. Wednesday, the jury members requested speakers to help them clearly hear some of the video evidence in the case. Court officials said they would oblige.

Two hours later, the jury foreman told the court they had their verdict.

The State Attorney’s Office rebutted the defense’s self-defense claims, saying that Woodward was not under threat from Hembree, Picior or Blake at the time he dressed in camouflage, crawled through the grass and began firing on the men in September 2012.

“There was no eminent threat” from the men who were shot, Assistant State Attorney Will Scheiner said Tuesday during closing arguments. “(Woodward) mounted the attack.”

Woodward told authorities his neighbors had threatened to burn down his house, rape his daughter and attack him with a bat, the attorneys said. But none of that was happening when he attacked, the prosecutor said.

“The problem with self-defense in this case is it is legally deficient,” Scheiner said.

The court previously rejected Woodward at a stand-yourground defense hearing.

Woodward did not testify during the two-week trial.

The jury heard his voice during recorded police interviews he had with Titusville police detectives.