NORWALK, Calif. -- A jury Tuesday convicted a man of killing five of his children by lighting a charcoal grill inside his home and closing all the doors and windows. Adair Javier Garcia, 33, showed no emotion when the verdicts were read. He could get the death penalty. The trial's penalty phase was scheduled to begin Monday.
The five children, ages 2 to 10, were asphyxiated in their sleep in 2002 as carbon monoxide built up inside the family's Pico Rivera home. Garcia and his then-9-year-old daughter survived.
Prosecutors said Garcia sought revenge against his wife, who had recently left him.
Police initially thought the grill was used to heat the house but became suspicious when they found several working space heaters in the home.
During the trial, prosecutors presented a video of Garcia saying goodbye to his wife.
"I love you. I'm of sound mind and I know what I'm doing," Garcia said to the video camera. "I just want to let you know this is the only option available. You've broken me. You don't care, so I don't care. ... What I'm about to commit is the most cowardly, selfish act possible."
Prosecutors said Garcia had the children say goodbye to their mother in another taped segment.
The defense argued Garcia was "a man overwhelmed" and could not have committed premeditated murder. A psychiatrist testified he suffered from depression and was under the delusion he and his family could fly to Peter Pan's Neverland.
But prosecutors argued that Garcia's actions showed premeditation.