A grand jury returned a guilty verdict Tuesday in the trial of a man accused of committing the execution-style triple murder on East 11th Avenue that shocked the Ohio State University in 2003.

Less than one week after the trial began for Vernon L. Spence, 31, and four hours after the Franklin County Common Pleas Court jury deliberations began, the jurors returned the verdict, said Patrick Brooks, a detective who worked on the case.

“It was the quickest verdict you will ever see in a death penalty case,” Brooks said. “The evidence against him was overwhelming.”

Spence was indicted for the killings in September 2004 after being implicated by two friends who were arrested on charges of cocaine trafficking, according to testimony from co-defendant Rodell Rahmann. Spence plead not guilty for the killings of Arron Grexa, Eric Hlass and Kayla Hurst.

The three were found bound with stereo wire and shot in the back of their heads in the 11th Avenue apartment of Grexa, 23, and Hlass, 22, on July 23, 2003, according to testimony from Dr. Robert C. Belding, Mahoning County Deputy Coroner.

Hurst, 21, was an OSU student. She had been visiting Grexa, whom she had recently begun dating at the time of the murders, The Columbus Dispatch reported July 13.

Spence will face the death penalty during the penalty phase of the trial, which begins today.

During the trial, Spence testified he was not at the crime scene the night the murders occurred, said Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor James Lowe. His mother, however, testified that she did not see him all night, Lowe said.

Co-defendants Todd Bensonhaver and Rahmann testified Spence recruited them to rob Grexa and Hlass, who were small-time marijuana dealers. The two testified that they ran out the back door of the apartment after Spence said he was going to kill the three victims.

After the murders, a witness telephoned Columbus Police and said he saw the two men running from the apartment as the shots were fired, Brooks said.

Both Rahmann and Bensonhaver accepted plea bargains in exchange for their testimony against Spence. They face charges of aggravated burglary, kidnapping and involuntary manslaughter for their parts in the crime.

After his trafficking arrest, detectives were able to use Bensonhaver’s fingerprint, found at the crime scene, to gain a confession.

Rahmann, who testified he was to be the getaway driver, admitted he tied up one of the victims.

Rahmann and Bensonhaver’s crimes carry a minimum sentence of 21 years.

“From the beginning it was a robbery,” Brooks said. “Three of them were there and the defendant told the other two to leave because they could identify him so he had to do them.”

Brooks said Spence told several people he had committed the murders.

“He implicated himself,” Brooks said.

Defense attorney Gerald Sunbery argued last week, however, that no physical evidence links Spence to the murders.

During testimony, Sunbery questioned Rahmann about his relationship with Bensonhaver. The two men had been close friends since childhood, but his association with Spence was more recent and distant, Rahmann testified.

Early in the trial, Judge Dale A. Crawford cautioned audience member Bob Hlass that he would be searched each day before trial begins.

Hlass, who is the father of victim Eric Hlass, wrote a letter threatening Spence while Spence was in custody.

“Eric was my pride and joy,” Hlass stated in the letter. “He never hurt anyone.”

“I think you are the biggest coward that ever lived,” Hlass wrote in the letter.

The verdict is expected to be determined by August 1.

“Why? That’s the million dollar question,” Brooks said. “No one is going to report that their dope got stolen. It’s ridiculous.”

Bob Hlass had a similar question for the defendant.

“How could you kill my son for no reason?” he wrote in his letter.