Watch CBS News

Zion Man Sentenced To Death For Killing Navy Officer In Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A federal jury has sentenced an ex-Marine to death for murdering a fellow service member in 2009, one among a series of violent, sexually motivated attacks he committed over the years.

Twenty-five-year-old Jorge Torrez of Zion, Ill., is the first person since 2007 to be sentenced to death at the federal courthouse in Alexandria. He will join 59 other inmates on federal death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

After Torrez was found guilty earlier this month of Navy Petty Officer Amanda Snell's murder, Torrez ordered his lawyers not to put on any defense or question the government's case during the trial's sentencing phase.

Prosecutors said Torrez not only killed Snell but also murdered two young girls in his hometown of Zion when he was 16.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.