Jurors find Tundidor guilty

Man could face death penalty

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Jurors have convicted a man charged with killing Nova Southeastern University professor on all counts. 

Randy Tundidor Sr. showed no emotion upon learning he's been found guilty of a crime that could send him to death row.

Raw Video: Verdicts read

The killing of Dr. Joseph Morrissey was carefully planned, bloody and cold-hearted. 

"I'm very tired. It's been a long two years for us. It's been very torturing," said Linda Morrissey, the professor's wife. 

She survived the April 2010 attack, when armed intruders broke into the Morrissey home, tied up and robbed the couple while their 5-year-old son slept nearby. 

Prosecutors said Tundidor recruited his crack-addicted son, Randy Tundidor Jr., to help carry out his murderous plot, to settle a dispute over money with Joseph Morrissey, who was his landlord. The 46-year-old father was stabbed nine times with a hunting knife, before Randy Tundidor Sr. set the house on fire, investigators said. 

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. 

"You look at the circumstances around the death of Mr. Morrissey, the planning that went into it and the torture that he went through. All of those things speak for themselves," said prosecutor Thomas Coleman. 

The evidence against Randy Tundidor Sr. was strong. Randy Tundidor Jr. testified against his dad. Surveillance video showed Randy Tundidor Sr. burning clothes behind his business hours after the killing, and detectives had Randy Tundidor Sr. on tape, admitting his role in the crime. 

Jurors deliberated for about five hours Tuesday, then called it quits for the day without reaching a verdict. But five minutes after they reconvened Wednesday, they reached their decision. 

The jury found Randy Tundidor Sr. guilty of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, arson, and burglary. 

Joseph Morrisey's wife called the verdict justice, but she said that's little consolation for the lifetime of loss she struggles to endure. 

"For us, there will never be closure. We will never get over this. We have to learn to live our lives this way," Linda Morrissey said. 

Jurors will reconvene sometime in the fall for the sentencing phase of the trial.