Jury convicts man in deaths of parents

PONTIAC (AP) — A 54-year-old Detroit area man with a history of mental illness and substance abuse will spend the rest of his life in prison for beating his 87-year-old father and 85-year-old mother to death with hammers.

An Oakland County jury recently found Jeffrey Maurer guilty of first-degree premeditated murder.

Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies of William and Gayle Maurer Jan. 19 in a vehicle inside the garage of their Rochester Hills home. They were bludgeoned with two hammers and a heavy tea kettle.

Jeffrey lived with his parents. Prosecutors have said he wanted their money.

Defense attorney Michael McCarthy has said the slayings were “spur of the moment” and not planned.