first with the lodato family, then with ron kirby's family.to nancy dunning's family, julie carey has been telling you this could have been the questionable conviction out of all of them. when that guilty count was read, that verdict read for nancy dunning, we could hear sobs in the courtroom and her family very, very emotional in that moment. they continued to read the counts from then on. guilty of all ten. we looked at severance's parents, they had been sitting in the front row since the trial began. they were rather emotionless. severance himself in the same composure as he has for the four weeks of the testimony and evidence presentation of this case. staring straight ahead, not saying a word. as of now, we can tell you the jury has been dismissed briefly. 15 minutes of recess. the judge is talking to the counsel s both sides, prosecution and defense to determine how they'll move forward with sentencing. there was some concern initially from the defense that they didn't want to move into it right away citing a conflict of interest with tw

lodato a music teacher who had an impact on so many. this neighbor hopes it brings osure. >> a frind of mine. brianne: you heard in t press conference from the courthouse how many different people were involved leading to this point. coming up at 6:00 we hear from alexandria police chief and what he has to say about the verdict today. reporting live, brianne carter, abc7 news. alison: thank you very much. we get to more breaking news now. this time from metro. telling us neil cohen no longer in the running to be the next transit agency general manager. the chair said cohen is no longer under consideration but did not give a reason why. we are keeping a close eye on tion that and we will bring coming up in the hour. leon? leon: let's check of the weather. it's gray outside but not too bad. chief meteorologist doug hill standing by in the belfort furniture weather center. what does it like it for you? doug: let's go to live shot from the national harbor. the spectrum here, the longest through the evening. hours and it is going to clear fr

the first count that was read, ruth anne lodato, guilty. now, the first count is ruth anne lodato, who was killed in february of 2014, found dead in her home by her caretaker. care take -- caretaker of her elderly mother. that's what broke the se ope prosecutors said if charles severance didn't continue killing that nancy dunning's murder may have gone unsolved but because he started killing again in 2013, killing ron kirby right in his doorway and then again ruth anne lodato in her doorway, the three victims living in one square mile. but with that witness in the ruth anne lodato case seeing charles severance, hearing a shot, hearing a scream, oning to the -- running to the door. she testified that she looked up and saw this man and she identified charles severance in court. there was a problem with part of her testimony, in that she said it was a man who had a shorter beard and the defense tried to hone in on that saying it was the wrong man but the jury in the end believed that the witness had seen charles severance that day and that's w

that is for the murder of ruthanne lodato and ronald kirby.we heard from their family members today during the sentencing phase talking about how much they miss their loved ones. we heard from the husband of mruthan-- how these deaths have impacted them. they have been affected financially, emotionally, they could not concentrate anymore. it is really hard reaching -- it is really heart wrenching to he all of these having to see their friend or famid now to sit to the trial and hear the details. we also heard from the prosecutor about the circumstantial evidence. it did not make the case is not a strong case. he said this case was extremely strong. he felt it was drawn from the beginnhad video of charles severance walking into a target store. he had other video e's car the morning that ruthanne lodato was killed. also all the firearms evidence that they had that pointed to town funk". his mani also all the firearms evidence that they had that pointed to charles severance. quite an emotiol now convict it on all ten counts and he has been given

we want to express our deepest sympathies the dunnings, kirbies and lodatos for their losses. our family is a strong family. we will pursue and continue on. as i mentioned this is very much a developing story and waiting for that sentencing portion of this case to go forward. we are waiting to hear from the jury. meantime, wendy, i know folks in the city of alexandria have been waching this very closely. >> we are getting reaction from alexandria's police chief. the verdict brings closure not onlyor those family, but for the detectives who have worked this case, these cases for years, and of course, for this community. >> we said 11 years ago there is no cold case with the homicide of this nature, and we wl work as long as it takes resolve it. unfortunately, other victims got in the way of this particular person who committed these crimes and through no fault of their own they were victimized and today hopefully that person will never harm anyone in any community again. >>alexandria's police chief. he also said this was one of the most significant cases that this department ha

. >> i'm norman lodato. i'm representing the lodato family and my wife ruthanne. i have a short statement, and i won't be taking any questions afterwards. we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has devoted their time, energy and expertise to ensure that justice would be served in the loss of my wife, ruthanne. from the first responders and the medical staff of the washington hospital center to the alexandria police department, detective will oakley, the fbi, the loudoun county sheriff's department and the wheeling west virginia police department, we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. we want to thank the prosecution team of ryan porter, david lord, mark birnbaum and the staff who lived and breathed these cases tirelessly. and finally, we offer our thanks to the jury for giving the kind of time, attention and service that befitted the three beautiful souls who were taken from our families. to all these people, we will not forget you. while ruthanne's absence in our lives is an unfillable void, this verdict provides more strength

that is what ruthanne lodato's brother greg said when he learned of her death. "my life without him is devastated" said the widow of ron kirby. patty moran, sister of nancy dunning, said, "because of these verdicts there will once again be peace in our homes and in the city of alexandria." and the father of charles severance said, "a jury of his fears rendered a verdict and we want to send deepest sympathy for the losses. our family is a strong family. we will pursue and continue on." we have gotten word that it seems like the defense will be appealing the verdict. not much of a surprise in a case like this. we are expecting this decision on the deliberations of the sentencing from the jury could come down at any moment at this point. after that happens we expect to hear from the lead prosecutor in the case. ryan porterwe expect to hear frt family members of the victims so this is still a developing story in fairfax. we will have much more coming up for you later on at 5:00 and again at 6:00. until then, live in fairfax, jeff goldberg, abc7 news. jonathan: thank

the victims' families are reflects on the past and looking toward the futurement one of ruthanne lodato's daughters works with us here at abc7. she and her sister spoke with us today. >> it's something that you hope no one ever has to go to, but to have all gone through a similar experience with this really brought us closer together. a lot of people kept us going. maureen: charles severance will be sentenced in january. the jury recommended three life sentences plus 38 years. leon: one person is in custody tonight accused of trying to rob a worker at the outlet mall in washington county. police tell us that bryce house had a gun on him when he walked up to an employee last night and repeatedly demanded the store's deposit. the employee didn't have them. house took off from the scene but he is facing several charges including armed robbery now. the victim reported a woman was with house in the incident. if you have any information, washington county police want to talk with you as soon as possible. up next on "abc7 news at 6:00" -- metro's top pick is out. so now what happens? how wmata p

lodato was another one of his victims. defense argued that authorities jump to conclusions because of his mental illness. jeff goldberg is upstairs in the courtroom right now for the sentencing phase. we will have more information as soon as that develops. back to you. jummy: our team coverage continues with brianne carter live in the neighborhood where these murders took place. that is del ray. she has reaction to the guilty verdict. what are people saying? i'm talking to people who have lived in the community for the past decade saying they were waiting to hear exactly what the word would be in this case. many of them finding out as we told them this afternoon that it lacked charles severance was found guilty on all 10 charges. one woman grabbing her chest saying, that she was waiting to hear what the news would be and she knew one of the victims personally who had helped her move to this community and she said she was relieved. we talked to another man who has lived in this neighborhood for decades saying that he hopes

said the moment that turned it into their favor, he feels that the testimony, the care-taker of the lodato family stood on the witness stand and identified charles severance in court as the shooter, he felt it was a key moment in getting the prosecution to the point where they got today. charles severance found guilty of all charges. the official stensing will take place on january 22. live in fairfax, jeff goldberg, abc7 news. maureen: thank you, jeff. now three murders happened in different part of alexandria. for years they left the community on edge. brianne carter has more on what the local residents had to say after the verdict was read. brianne: in the time that the crimes were happening many residents in this community changing their habits on a daily basis. many of them would go out and walk their dogs but they would stop doing that. so now, for some, relief comes as word of the verdict. a sense of relief for some people in alexandria. >> that is fabulous. >> while questions remain for others. >> if i was on the jury i don't know what i would have decided. brianne: after a jury fo

tom: she helped care for the mother of ruthanne lodato. she also was shot, but she survived to testify against severance. >> she looked him dead in the eyes and identified him as the murderer. still have to convince the jury that severance was responsible for the other two murders without an eyewitness and no weapon. did half, a ballistics expert who said the same kind of bullet was used in all three crimes, a bullet he had never seen used in any other crime and that likely came from a revolver similar to this type that severance was obsessed with. ifit circumstantial evidence it leads to one and only one logical conclusion is powerful. the serialgh killings happen to the city of alexandria, this was move to the fairfax county courthouse because of the attention the cases received in alexandria. live in fairfax, tom roussey, abc 7 news. tom. thank you, fairfax schools making changes after a fiery incident during a chemistry class at wt woodson high school friday. six people were injured, five students, one teacher. one student remains hosp

jeff: but the jury found charles severance guilty of all ten counts related to the murders of lodato, ron kirby and nancy dunning. >> we awe breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the ten guilty. >> i think so. it's also a relief that this is over. you can move forward. jeff: carmen who is an employee at abc7 news said the families found strength in one another and had great faith in the case presented by prosecutor brian porter and throughout the trial they say, they, their sister gina and their father norm were not alone. >> we really felt our mom with us throughout all of this. this is justice for her. what she deserved. >> think maze their mother ruthanne every day and are still trying to figure out how to move on without her but they know the best way is to honor her spirit. focus on the family and love and how she lived her life. >> the family and the dunning family went out of their way to express the deep appreciation yesterday for the support of the police prosecutors? it is a tight knit community. jeff goldberg, abc7 news. leon: thank you. brave girls. at least three people

it happened in lodato way in rational abc news. the victim is in ctical leon: the prince george's county police identified three people killed in a horrific church van crash. 6-year-old gomez died sunday's crash. they confirm what relatives told us yesterday that 75-year-old santiago and his wife were also killed. a pregnant woman lost her child in the crash and she is in a coma. so far the driver of the pickup who caused the crash has not been identified. maureen: next at 6:00 -- >> photos, telegram. even personal letter. they are all part of a mystery pursued by the police department. i'm suzanne kennedy. i'll have the story coming up. leon: it's rain we have now going to be moving out tonight. find out what time it is moving out and when more is on the way. >> i'm erin hawksworth live at the verizon center. could this be the future home of kevin durant? i spoke with him earlier today. hear what he had to say coming up later in sports. maureen: we have update on breaking news from akron, ohio. it's been confirmed there are no sur

one of ruthanne lodato's daughters work with us here at abc 7. >> i think we all breathed a sigh of relief when we heard that 10 guilty's. >> a lot of people have helped us through this difficult time. leon: the jury recommended three life sentences for charles severance, who will be sentenced officially in january. alison: terrifying moments during the lunch hour when a car slammed into a wendy's in chantilly. three people were hurt, but they are expected to be ok. the police are trying to figure out what led up to this crash. tom roussey is live at the scene with the latest. what can you tell us, tom? despite the damage, they have been able to reopen. iraqi leslie, the drive-through by 10 a.m. tomorrow, they are planning to open this half of the restaurant. over here they will not be up to reopen because they have a lot of work to board up where the car came in. this is what it looked like this afternoon. it was during the lunch hour, with 20, 30 people inside at the time. three customers were sitting very close to the window. they were hit and taken to the hospital. folks at the restaur

jeff: we spoke this afternoon with two of ruthanne lodato's three daughters who talked about what it was like to endure this trial for a month. the reaction to the verdict and how they still struggle every day with the loss of their mother. today in old town, alexandria, at a park named for their mother, a music teacher all of her life, we spoke luchia and carmen lodato. carmen is an employee at abc7. they both say that the trial was physically and emotionally exhausting. explaining just how difficult it was to hear the details of the crimes against their mother mother and the other victims. they leaned on one another and found strength for one another and stood strongly behind the case of the prosecutor brian porter. >> i think we are really confident from the beginning with brian and whole team. we think they did a great job. the jury thought so too. >> we were so pleased it turned out the way it did and that all the families really got what we were hoping for out of the case. jeff: when everyone was inside the courtroom yesterday listening to the verdicts being read, it was an inc

severance issued a statement saying we want to express our deepest sympathy to dunning, kirbys and lodatos for their losses. charles severance has two capital murder convictions. brian porter said he decided against offering death penalty option because of the mental health component in the case. he said all you have to do is read some of charles severance's twisted writings to know he suffers from some kind of mental illness. in fact that was what the defense said during the sentencing phase pleading with the jury that this man is not a monster but someone who suffers from mental illness and did not get the help he needed. however, porter said during the trial that he was an assassin and tonight he said he absolutely knew right from wrong and was capable of standing trial. >> peggy thanks. >>> the jury's life sentence recommendations is but a recommendation. the judge will have the official sentence that's scheduled for january 22nd. >>> happening now, police are investigating deaths of two people whose bodies were found inside a home in northeast along the 200 block of tennessee. a famil

the jury convicted severance yesterday in the murders of ruth ann lodato, ron kirby and nancy dunning. they recommended three life sentences. in court, kirby's widow recalled the last time she spoke to him, the last thing he said to me was to call me when you get lost and i am truly lost without him. the verdict also brings a sense of closure to an entire community. >> -- homicide of this nature, unfortunately other victims got in the way of this particular person who committed these crimes. today, hopefully, that person will never harm anyone in any community again. >> severance is scheduled to be sentenced in january. >>> we're working to learn the name of a 22-year-old man found dead near a popular shopping center in gaithersburg. montgomery county police say someone discovered that body in a wooded area yesterday. our cameras were there as investigators processed that scene. it is on contour road near the montgomery village plaza. police are not saying how the man died. surveillance video helped police catch a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in arlington. 31

the jury convicted charles severance on all ten counts today in the murders of ruth ann lodato, ron kirby and nancy dunning. they remmed three life sentences. in court kirby's widow recalls the last time she spoke to him, saying the last time he ever said to me was to call me when you get lost, and i am truly lost without him. the verdict brings a sense of closure to an entire community >> there is no cold case for a homicide of this nature. unfortunately, other victims got in the way of this particular person who committed these crimes. today hopefully that person will never harm anyone in any community again. >> charles severance is scheduled to officially be sentenced in january. his attorneys are expected to appeal. >>> it's back to the drawing board tonight for metro. the year-long search for a general manager hit a huge snag today. news4 was first to report last week the transit agency had zeroed in on neil cohen. but this afternoon, metro announced negotiations had ended. transportation reporter adam tuss now with what is next for metro. >> reporter: well, in the end, an aerospace

after being shot the man crashed his car on lodato way not far from where the beltway meets route 50. maryland bureau chief brad bell on the scene where it was towed away in the last after hour. what did you learn about this? brad: it took place 100 yards down there. the car mowing down the sign here coming to rest on the tree. a wild scene. gunfireand a car crash. >> it's really sad. the kids you have to worry out brad: this car at the heart of the violce. e driver shot behind he wheel. then itoaring out of control and crashing neais man ho. news, but wh it'son our doorstep it's scary hood looking first for a g for evidence. the viserious condition. i spke to thisner a few moments ago. he did't want to talk on camera but hearing th running finding the car on fire. he put a hose on it and he said that theviims unconsous and covered with blood. police telling us is in critical condition. search for the gunman still on. brad bell, abc news. alisank you. we have new information in the ke of the deadly accident along chill road in hyattsville. today police identified three people killed i

after being shot the man crashed his car on lodato way not far from where the beltway meets route 50. maryland bureau chief brad bell on the scene where it was towed away in the last after hour. what did you learn ab

a jury convicted severance yesterday in the murders of ruth ann lodato, ron kirby and nancy dunning. they recommended three life ent. in court, kirby's widow recalled the last time she spoke to him, saying last thing he said to me was to call me when i got lost and i am true ly lost without him. the verdict brings a sense of closure to an entire community. >> said 11 years ago there is no cold case with a homicide of this nature. unfortunately other victims got in the way of this particular person who committed these crimes. today, hopefully that person will never harm anyone in any community again. >> severance is scheduled to be sentenced in january. >>> surveillance video helped police catch a man accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in arlington. 31-year-old ahmed katib is accused of touching the boy while he was sleeping inside the common room at an apartment building near the boston mall. the boy says he woke up with his pants down. he quickly ran away and told a cousin who was working in that building. >>> we're working to learn the name of a 22-year-old man found

a jury convicted severance yesterday in the murders of ruth ann lodato, ron kirby and nancy dunning. they recommended three life sentences. in court, kirby's widow recalled the last time she spoke to him, saying, the last thing he said to me was to call me when you get lost, and i am truly lost without him. the verdict also brings a sense of closure to an entire community. >> said 11 years ago, there is no cold case with a homicide of this nature. unfortunately other victims got in the way of this particular person who committed these crimes. today, hopefully, that push will never harm anyone in any community again. >> severance is expected to be sentenced in january. >>> we're working to learn the names of a -- the name of a 22-year-old man found dead near a popular shopping center in gaithersburg. police say the body was discovered in a wooded area. news 4 was there as investigators processed that scene along contour road in montgomery village plaza yesterday. right now police are not saying whether they think the man was killed. >>> surveillance video helped police catch a man acc

the murders of ruthanne lodato, ron kirby and nancy dunning stretched just over a decade and left the alexandria community frozen in fear. tonight, charles severance convicted of the horrific killings will spend his life behind bars. the victims' family members took the stand ahead of his sentencing. >> we had long ago lost hope that justice would ever come, and our relief today is mixed with anguish that our dad is not here standing beside us finally feeling the weight of cruel and unfair suspicion being lifted from his shoulders that had already carried a too-heavy load. >> dunning's daughter told the jury her boys never got to meet their grandmother killed in 2003. some day, hopefully a long time from now i'll have to tell my boys what happened to their grandma. i want to be able to tell them the man who killed your grandma will be in jail for his entire life and you don't need to be afraid. marilyn kirby broke down and said i've lost my hero and my best friend. >> kirby's widow said the last thing she remembered her husband giving her driving directions. the last thing he said was