Bucks man found guilty of murdering woman, child

A 22-year-old Bristol Township man was found guilty Wednesday by a Bucks County Court jury of stabbing to death a pregnant woman and her 4-year-old daughter, a crime prosecutors said was an attempted takeover of the woman's heroin-dealing business.

Marcel Johnson was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, one for Ebony Talley, 22, and one for her daughter, R'Mani Rankins. Johnson was also convicted on a count of third-degree murder for killing the child Talley was carrying, as well as arson for setting Talley's Levittown apartment on fire after the murders.

Wearing the same button-down shirt he had worn throughout the seven-day trial, Johnson showed no emotion in the Doylestown courtroom as the verdict was read.

Johnson's defense attorney, Craig Penglase, said his client did not utter a word before he was sent back into custody.

Members of Talley's family sighed and wiped their faces with tissues. They declined to comment as they left the courthouse.

A jury of nine men and three women deliberated for 12 hours before reaching the decision. They will now hear several days of testimony to determine whether to sentence Johnson to death.

Bucks County Chief of Prosecution Matt Weintraub praised the jury's decision, calling the murders "more heinous and brutal" than many others he has seen.

During five days of testimony before Judge Diane Gibbons, Weintraub used witnesses to paint a grim picture of Johnson. Lacking a permanent home or reliable income, witnesses said, he became mired in the lower Bucks County drug trade.

Occasionally, witnesses testified, Johnson and Talley dealt drugs together. But ultimately, Weintraub argued, he wanted the entire business.

In Talley's apartment on Nov. 25, 2013, the jury found, Johnson stabbed Talley multiple times, then plunged the knife into the only witness, R'Mani. Johnson then set the apartment on fire and fled in Talley's Cadillac. Talley's body was found in her bedroom, charred and covered in small yellow baggies of heroin.

Police locked Johnson up within hours on unrelated drug charges, believing him to be involved in the killings. Behind bars, he apparently confessed to a fellow inmate. That inmate, George Lewis, testified during the trial.

Penglase had attempted to point out that Lewis was a motivated witness with a long rap sheet and plenty of reasons to lie to help his own case. Penglase also told the jury that Johnson's DNA was not found in evidence from the scene.

Penglase's attention will now shift to trying to save his client's life. The penalty phase of Johnson's trial is expected to last through Monday.