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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tarpon Springs man was found guilty Wednesday of killing his grandparents in 2011 after years of battles over whether or not he was competent to stand trial.
A jury found George Stephen Georgiou guilty of first-degree murder after a trial that lasted nearly a week , according to online court records. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Georgiou fatally shot his grandparents after entering a home along Chesapeake Drive on Jan. 4, 2011, because they didn’t pay his father for work at the family business, according to a criminal complaint.
Georgiou then tried to cover up the killings by setting the home on fire, authorities said. Two burned matches were found at the home. One behind a couch next to a gun cabinet, and another in the living room area.
During an interview, Georgiou said he thought it “would be cool to kill someone,” according to the complaint.
Court records showed Georgiou was found incompetent to stand trial five times between 2017 and 2022. He was found competent to stand trial in May 2022.