At the onset of jury selection Friday morning in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, former Ohio State student Carlo Lamarr-Marquis Owens – charged with nine felony counts, including aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and felonious assualt – changed his plea of not guilty to guilty. The nineteen-year-old’s admission of guilt came as part of a plea agreement between prosecutors and defense attorneys. Both sides recommended that Owens get consecutive life sentences without eligibility of parole for the murders, instead of the death penalty. In addition to the life sentence, they are recommending that Owens receive another 76 years for the other offenses.There is still a possibility, however, that a three-judge panel could sentence Owens to death at a sentencing hearing Friday morning, said Kerry Cantrell, a spokesman for the county prosecutors office.At that hearing, the victims’ families will have the opportunity to give impact statements and Owens will also be able to say something on his behalf.Judge Richard Sheward, one of the three judges on the panel and the judge who would have presided over the trial, apologized to the victims’ families for the delay in sentencing. The judges need to review all the facts before deciding on Owens’ punishment.”We ask you for your understanding,” Sheward said. “Our efforts are to comply with the law.”When the sentence is handed down, it will mark the end of a case that began Jan. 14, when Owens shot and killed Loretta Long, 21, and Patrick Pryor, 20, at 130 W. Norwich Ave. Owens then committed robberies at 171 E. 12th Ave. and 156 E. 13th Ave., where he shot Joshua Sixt, a sophomore business major, in the knee.Owens was arrested by SWAT officers on Feb. 4 behind 185 E. 12th Ave.At the mediation hearing Friday, Owens’ attorney George Luther discussed Owens’ background and what may have led to the crimes.Luther said that Owens grew up with an alcoholic mother who had a series of physically abusive relationships with men. She once attempted suicide and was charged with attempted murder last year.He also said that Owens, who studied at Ohio State during the Autumn 1997 and Winter 1998 quarters, graduated from Cass Technical High School, a prominent college-prep school in downtown Detroit with no prior criminal record.Coming to OSU in autumn of 1997, Owens received an ROTC scholarship. Enrolled through winter of 1998, he dropped out of the Reserve Officers Training Corps after being overwhelmed by trying to balance classes, ROTC, and other school activities, Luther said. This led to Owens having trouble paying tuition.A psychologist who evaluated Owens said that Owens believed his family expected him to do well in college and did not tell them of his troubles at school, Luther said. Luther also told the victims’ families that Owens is sorry for their loss.While an Ohio State student, Owens lived in Halloran House and attempted to join the track team, but failed to meet the NCAA requirements.