BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A Benton County jury has recommended two consecutive terms of life in prison without parole for a man accused in the 2009 deaths of two Bentonville women.
The panel made the decision Tuesday in the case of Michael Winters, who was convicted last week of two counts of capital murder in the killings of 81-year-old Louise Bishop and her 40-year-old daughter, Christina Bishop. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.
According to the Benton County Daily Record, authorities allege Winters and co-defendant, Nicholas Johansen, went to Louise Bishop's home the day the women vanished. The women were robbed, and their bodies were buried at another location.
Winters' attorney, Drew Ledbetter, says Winters is grateful for the jury's recommendation.
A January trial is scheduled for Johansen, who is Christina Bishop's son.
