ALBIA, Iowa- A Monroe County Jury has found Patrick Thompson guilty of two counts of First Degree Murder, two counts of Attempted Murder, and Arson, in connection with the 2017 deaths of his step-sister and her cousin in a Guthrie County house fire.
Prosecutors argued Thompson set the fire to kill his stepsister, 12-year-old Paige Exline, to stop her from testifying about sexual abuse. Sixteen-year-old Shakiah Cockerham, was also killed in the fire. Two other family members were injured.
Thompson now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the two murder convictions.
(Photo from Chanel 13 WHO-TV)