MANCHESTER – A Hillsborough County Superior Court jury yesterday convicted Todd Peters, 36, of first-degree murder in the baseball bat beating deaths of Edith Riley and Timothy King in October 2008.

The jury deliberated for 6 1/2 hours over two days before finding Peters guilty. A first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole, which is usually imposed immediately. Judge Gillian Anderson, however, set sentencing for 10 a.m. today to allow family members to speak.

PETERS

Riley, 35, a mother of six, and King, 21, lived in an apartment at 168 Valley St. with the couple's two children and several of Riley's other children.

Riley's then-12-year-old daughter was awakened by her mother's screams and found the beaten and bloody couple in the apartment's living room about 4 a.m. Oct. 11, 2008. She told police a man she later identified as Peters was in the room when she entered. She knew him because his son lived a block away and described the clothing he was wearing when arrested later that day. After he left, the girl called 911.

Peters and Riley had known each for many years, and Peters' son, Dominic, then 11, lived on Bell Street with Peters' former wife, Ann Marie, less than a block away from the victims' apartment.

Both prosecution and defense agreed Peters had been in Weare before the murders, but while defense attorneys said Peters then went to Concord and stayed there before returning to Weare, prosecutors said Peters had gone to Manchester and killed Riley and King.

The prosecution contended an intoxicated Peters, accompanied by another man, awakened his son, Dominic, at his Bell Street home. After hearing Dominic say King had thrown a rock that hit him in the leg, prosecutors said, an enraged Peters went to Valley Street apartment of Riley and King and fatally beat them with a baseball bat. The bat was found in a Weare pond.

KING and RILEY (COURTESY)

Riley was dead at the scene, but King was taken to a Boston Hospital. He had been beaten so badly that his family could only identify him by the rosary tattoo on his neck. King lingered on a respirator until Oct. 24, never regaining consciousness.

Before the jury entered the courtroom yesterday to render its verdict, Abramson praised the restraint exercised by those in the gallery during the trial, which she described as "an intensely emotional experience for all of you." She urged everyone to continue that restraint when the verdict was announced.

Upon hearing the jury foreman say "guilty," one of King's brothers cried out a triumphant "Yes." At the same time, a former girlfriend of Peters exclaimed "No" and buried her face in her hands.

Later, outside the courtroom, surrounded by family and friends of both victims, King's mother, Dixie, was both tearful and happy.

"This is justice. This is their justice," she said.

For prior coverage of the murders, click the links below.

►Jury views scene of fatal bat attacks
►The Riley murder: A grandma's grief (18)
►City mom of six is slain (82)