A Washington County jury today spared the life of a Pittsburgh man convicted of first-degree murder in the killing 10 years ago of two students from Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Terrell Yarbrough now faces an automatic two life terms in prison without chance of parole.

The decision by the jury of nine women and three men was in contrast to an Ohio jury that had sentenced him to death in his first trial. That case was thrown out by an Ohio appeals court, which ruled the trial should have been held in Pennsylvania, where the bodies of Aaron Land and Brian Muha were found in 1999.

Mr. Yarbrough today apologized to the families of the victims for his role in the slayings, although he said he was not the shooter. He said he was changing his life.

Before the decision was returned, a livid Kathleen O'Hara said a defense attorney for Mr. Yarbrough "insulted crime victims everywhere" by implying that Mr. Yarbrough's embattled childhood and mental state should prevent him from receiving the death penalty for killing her son.

The lawyer, Kenneth Haber, also told jurors this morning that his client should be spared the death penalty because he could potentially save the life of a prison guard as he did for Squirrel Hill psychologist Barbara Vey, who nearly became the third victim of a crime spree that he participated in on Memorial Day 1999.

Mr. Yarbrough, 29, of East Liberty, was convicted of killing Ms. O'Hara's son, Mr. Land, and his roommate Mr. Muha, after kidnapping them from the off-campus apartment they shared at Franciscan University.

After those killings, Mr. Yarbrough and his alleged accomplice stole a vehicle from Ms. Vey, who had previously testified that Mr. Yarbrough protected her from his companion, who has not yet been retried in the case.

Ms. O'Hara, a Philadelphia psychotherapist, said Mr. Haber's attempt to deflect responsibility from his client, who he said played a "relatively minor" role in the crime, disgusted her. She made her remarks outside the courtroom after the jury began to deliberate the sentence.

"He minimized a brutal murder because Terrell had a bad childhood."

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