Jury Deliberating Fate Of Man Accused Of Murdering Wilton Manors Couple

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WILTON MANORS (CBSMiami) – A jury is deliberating the fate of a Hollywood man accused of murdering a gay couple in their Wilton Manors home seven years ago.

Peter Avsenew, 32, is facing the death penalty if convicted.

With over a week of testimony, prosecutors have built their case against Avsenew, saying he shot and killed longtime partners Stephen Adams and Kevin Powell.

Avsenew, who met the couple through Craigslist, stayed with them just a few days before the murder.

Prosecutor said after killing the couple, Avsenew took their SUV and charged up their credit cards before reaching his mother's house.

And some of the most incriminating evidence against him came from his own mother, Jeanne Avsenew. She was actually the one who turned him in.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Shari Tate quoted statements Avsenew had made since the killings.

"He says 'don't you know, I'm a stone cold killer,'" Tate told the jury.

She said Adams and Powell tried to help Avsenew who was down on his luck.

"And for their generosity helping him out, they paid with their lives," said Tate.

But Avsenew denies he killed Adams and Powell.

Avsenew's defense attorney, who painted him as a man down on his luck, said he discovered the couple shot to death and fled in a panic

"He was not living the lifestyle where he was going to pick up the phone and call the police," Gabe Ermine said. "He was a survivor and he went into survival mode."

What's more is that Ermine said there was a lack of evidence.

"There was no blood. Not just on Peter Avsenew – not on his clothes and not in the car,"  said Ermine.

Avsenew told the judge Tuesday he did not want to testify at his trial.