New York handyman accused of ‘07 cross-country killing spree convicted of 2 deaths
By APFriday, October 2, 2009
Texas jury convicts handyman of 2 slayings in ‘07
AUSTIN, Texas — A handyman accused of killing six people in a cross-country spree was convicted Friday in two of the deaths, and could face the death penalty.
Paul Devoe, 46, was accused of killing five people in Texas and one in Pennsylvania in August 2007. The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes before finding him guilty of capital murder in the deaths of two teenage girls.
The girls’ family members, who were holding hands before the verdict was read, cried, smiled and nodded when the verdict was announced.
Prosecutors say Devoe fatally shot 41-year-old Michael Allred at the bar he worked at in Marble Falls, then drove to the home of his ex-girlfriend, Paula Griffith, in Jonestown and shot her, her 48-year-old boyfriend, Jay Feltner, her daughter, Haylie Faulkner and Hensley, a friend of Haylie’s.
Travis County prosecutor Gary Cobb said he was happy with the verdict.
“Having somebody like that be found guilty and be assured that he will never be allowed to hurt anybody again gives me a great degree of personal satisfaction,” Cobb said.
Devoe is only on trial for the girls’ killings. It’s common in Texas for prosecutors to split multiple charges into separate trials. Prosecutors can still seek trials for the remaining killings.
The punishment phase of the trial begins Monday. Jurors will decide whether to give Devoe the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the deaths of 15-year-old Haylie Faulkner and 17-year-old Danielle Hensley.
“We clearly think he deserves the death penalty and that’s why we’re seeking it,” Cobb said.
Earlier this week, a witnesses testified that Devoe told him that night he’d gone to the bar to kill another ex-girlfriend, but his gun jammed and the bartender got in his way.
Prosecutors say after the killings, Devoe fled Texas for Long Island, N.Y., where he grew up and where his mother lived. They say he had car trouble near State Line, Pa., shot and killed 81-year-old widow Betty Jane Dehart and stole her car.
Devoe, who had worked as a handyman on painting and carpentry jobs, was arrested in Shirley, N.Y., on Aug. 27, 2007. He spent several weeks in a Texas psychiatric hospital before being declared competent for trial in March.
