2 convicted in man's brutal beating, drowning

DELAND, Fla. — Two men have been convicted of first-degree murder in the brutal beating and drowning of another man in Volusia County.

A jury convicted 30-year-old David Marrow and 32-year-old Barry Gallagher Tuesday. They both face lethal injection. The penalty phase begins Thursday.

Investigators say Marrow and Gallagher stomped and kicked 32-year-old David Sanders for about 45 minutes at an Ormond Beach home in December 2007. While Sanders was unconscious, they wrapped him in a piece of carpet, drove to the Halifax River and held his head under water for about five minutes before throwing the body in the river.

Defense attorneys argued for second-degree murder. They said the killing was not premeditated, because Sanders was already dead when they threw him in the river.