Ex-marine kills family and girlfriend to start new life

A former US marine has been found guilty of shooting dead his wife, girlfriend and five-year-old daughter so he could start a new life with another woman.

Zachary Cooper, 24, faces the death penalty when the sentencing phase of his trial begins today in Arlington, Virginia.

Cooper wanted to “clear the decks” in order to begin a relationship with a married neighbour in Fort Knox, Kentucky, prosecutors said.

They said he lured the victims – wife Maya, 22 , girlfriend Marie Gault, 20, and daughter Dessire, five - to a motel room in Arlington before killing them. After deliberating for ten hours, the jury found him guilty.

Cooper bowed his head and closed his eyes after the verdict was read.

He had admitted murdering Gault, but told jurors that she had killed his wife and daughter in a jealous rage. The family was visiting relatives in Arlington, where the Coopers and Gault grew up.