A Greene County jury deliberated for only about one hour this afternoon before deciding that Jeffery R. Martin should be executed for the rape and strangulation of a 12-year-old girl.

President Judge H. Terry Grimes sent the jury of six men and six women to their deliberations at 2:20 p.m. today, the seventh day of the trial, after closing arguments.

The jury found the death penalty was warranted because of two aggravating circumstances. First, the killing was committed in the commission of another felony, the rape. Second, the jury found Mr. Martin killed Gabrielle to prevent her from testifying against him in a felony. That was a reference to a recorded confession Mr. Martin gave police in which he said he killed the girl after she told him she planned to tell her parents that he had molested her./p>

Mr. Martin showed no emotion when the verdict was read and had no comment as he was taken out of the courtroom.

The jury yesterday convicted Mr. Martin, 51, of raping, strangling and burying Gabrielle Marinda Bechen, of Dunkard, on June 13, 2006. They reached that verdict after six hours of deliberations.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.