Steven Rebert, the former Oakfield resident convicted of killing a married couple in Pennsylvania and a suspect in the murder of Bill Fickel in 2005, will spend the rest of his life in prison, a Jefferson County jury decided after four hours of deliberation.
The jury could have sentenced Rebert to death -- which in Pennsylvannia currently would be 23 hours a day in solitary confinement for the rest of his life -- but instead said Rebert should receive four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Rebert was convicted of two counts each of first- and second-degree murder and aggravated assault, theft, burglary and robbery.
Rebert reportedly told a Jefferson County television news reporter that he plans to appeal his conviction.
Genesee County DA Lawrence Friedman is expected to make a decision soon on whether to prosecute Rebert for Fickel's murder.
Rebert is also a person of interest in the unsolved murder of an Orleans County man, Kevin Smith.
Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster has long sought the identity of a witness who may have been at the scene the night Fickel was murdered, but even with a $100,000 reward, no such witness has yet come forward.
Brewster said last week, however, that there is sufficient evidence, even without the witness, for the DA's office to consider a murder charge against Rebert.
