A Deschutes County jury convicted Randall Kilby on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder after nearly six hours of deliberations Tuesday afternoon.

“I agree with the jury’s verdict,” said Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels, after hearing the verdict. “This was a very serious case. We know the jury took their time considering all the evidence and rendered an appropriate verdict.”

A date has not been set for Kilby’s sentencing. Kilby, 38, faces life in prison for the murders of Jeffrey “Jeff” Taylor, 66, and Benjamin “Benny” Taylor, 69, whose bodies were found in the home they shared on Granite Drive in Bend on March 21, 2021.

The state based its case on a confession obtained by Bend Police, arguing that Kilby killed both men with a hatchet during the same incident. Kilby told police that Jeff and Benny Taylor had abused Kilby’s mother, Darlene Allen. The family of the Taylors disputed that allegation on Monday.

Tuesday began with closing arguments in Deschutes County Circuit Court. Jurors faces were stern as they listened to presentations that included crime-scene photographs from prosecutors and an alternate theory from the defense that one of the victims was slain by someone else entirely.

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“This was not an accident,” said Aaron Brenneman, a Deschutes County deputy district attorney. “This was intentional behavior. You don’t hit a person repeatedly in the head with a hatchet — seeing that they are bleeding — and continue that process without incentive. You don’t hit the person repeatedly in the neck nearly decapitated, without the intent.”

Although the defense presented no witnesses during the trial, Kilby’s court appointed attorney, Thomas Spear, presented a lengthy jumble of arguments and emotional appeals to the jury during his closing argument.

“I want to caution you on your decision… (A) DUI case and a murder case are judged by the same standard,” Spear told the jury. “Do not feel the pressure that you have to somehow jump in and make a conclusion because there have been deaths to individuals… That’s not the methodology.” Spear also presented the jury with an alternate story for the killings in which Kilby did not kill Benny Taylor.

Perhaps Kilby killed Jeff Taylor but someone else killed Benny Taylor or he killed them both but not in the same continuous incident, Spear told the jury.

“They appear to be two different types of murders,” he said. “Does that explain a different individual or that there were different actors involved?”

Spear argued there were too many gaps in the evidence to conclusively determine Kilby killed both Jeff Taylor and Ben Taylor during the same altercation.

In particular, Spear worked to discredit Allen’s account in his closing argument. Even though Allen had testified she was in the house at the time of the murders, that should hold little weight because she initially delayed speaking to the police and was largely unable to remember the events, Spear said.

Brenneman addressed this component of Spear’s closing argument at the outset of his rebuttal.

“(Spear) wants you to ignore (Allen) because of the way she presented on the witness stand, which of course was distraught. I assume you saw how she was looking at the defendant. She was distraught. She was crying. She didn’t want to answer questions,” Brenneman said. “And keep in mind … back in March of 2021 the defendant threatened to kill her and said ‘If you say anything, you will be next.’ And this is to a woman who witnessed her son commit murder.”

Brenneman then dismissed the lack of Benny Taylor’s DNA on the murder weapon, which Spear had used to call into question if Kilby was even guilty of that crime. He reminded the jury that expert witnesses provided rational explanations for the lack of DNA — for example that Kilby cleaned the weapon.

The bottom line, Brenneman concluded, was that Kilby had confessed to the crime and the state had presented a thorough corroboration of that account.