Guilty. Six tiny letters that have very large meaning.

That was the verdict handed down Thursday by a 12-person jury in the murder trial of Carlos Jenkins.

The Ironton area man now faces life in prison for the Sept. 3 murder of John Turvey.

The verdict came Thursday just after 5 p.m., more than 10 hours after the jury began deliberations. As the verdict was read and the jurors polled individually, members of the Turvey family sat silently in the front row of the courtroom gallery.

Members of the Jenkins family sat sobbing two rows behind them. Jenkins himself showed no emotion as the verdict was read. He sat quietly as he had throughout the trial.

"I think justice was served," John Turvey's sister, Shirley Turvey, said afterward.

"I'm pleased, very pleased," his sister, Willodene Webb said.

Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier said he was also pleased. "I felt we had an excellent jury, a well-educated jury who took their duties very conscientiously. It was clear by length of their deliberations that they went over the facts, the evidence presented. Clearly, they did not rush to judgment."

The Jenkins family and legal counsel said they would continue to fight to prove Carlos Jenkins innocence. "This is not the end of the war," his attorney, David Reid Dillon said.

"We will continue gathering evidence and hopefully use it next time," Donald Venatter, private investigator with Clever Investigations, said.

Venatter continued to maintain another person killed John Turvey and that person allegedly confessed her involvement in the murder to a mutual acquaintance of Jenkins'.

The information was not admitted in court since the alleged killer has not confessed her involvement to authorities and the third party's information would be considered hearsay.

Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Richard Walton had intended to call the jurors out of deliberations at 5 p.m. and send them home for the day when the foreman notified court officials they had reached a verdict. The jury began deliberations at 4 p.m. Wednesday and worked for two hours before being sent home for the evening and instructed to return at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Walton said the length of the deliberations - some 10 hours -

was longer than normal but not a record.

Walton will sentence

Jenkins Wednesday. He could receive life in prison but would not be eligible for parole for 15 years but because a gun was used an additional three years will be added.