Courtesy of AlphaMedia USA Lincoln.DAKOTA CITY–(KFOR/News Reports Sept. 26)–A jury in Dakota County on Thursday handed down a guilty verdict on ten different offenses committed by a 44-year-old man that stemmed from the August 2022 deaths of four people in the northeast Nebraska community of Laurel. The trial was handled in Dakota County, instead of Cedar County, for Jason Jones of Laurel to get a fair trial according to a judge. But the jury found him guilty on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of arson and four counts of weapons-related offenses in the deaths of 86-year-old Gene Twiford, 85-year-old Janet Twiford and their 55-year-old daughter, Dana Twiford, along with 53-year-old Michelle Ebeling. Jones then set two homes where the victims were on fire. Jones’ defense team was seeking lesser charges for the murders, saying Jones was suffering from a “mental break” at the time he killed the Twifords and it was not premeditated, which is a requirement for the 1st-degree murder charge. A conviction of 1st-degree murder carries the possibility of the death sentence in Nebraska, which the state has said they will seek if convicted. The jury will move into a new hearing, where they will decide if there were aggravating circumstances that would warrant the death penalty. Jones’s wife, Carrie Jones, faces charges related to the murders. She had pleaded not guilty to 1st-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and being an accessory to a felony. Her next hearing is set for November in Cedar County District Court.