Man Found Guilty In Case Of Burning Body

Prosecutors say a Marksville man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a drug-addicted man whose body was found burning off an Avoyelles Parish road in January.

Avoyelles Parish First Assistant District Attorney Mike Kelly says Matthew T. Conway was convicted Thursday by an eight-woman, four-man jury which deliberated for about an hour.

Conway was convicted in the death of Derek J. Desselle of Vick.

A second-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.

Conway will be sentenced at a later date.

Of the five Avoyelles Parish residents who were connected to the killing in varying degrees, Kelly says four pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges that reflected their involvement in the crime.