Jurors Convict Ex-Carrier of Killing Woman

By: Tulsa County jurors convict a former newspaper carrier of 1 count of first-degree murder but acquit him on the other count.

Paul Williford was found guilty today of murdering Geraldine Lawhorn, whose body was exhumed after Williford confessed to police that he had killed two women who lived along his delivery route.

Before the 2005 deaths of Lawhorn and Donna Stauffer, both women's deaths had been presumed to be from natural causes.

A medical examiner testified last week that Lawhorn's autopsy showed that her death was caused by asphyxia resulting from strangulation and drowning.

Stauffer's body was cremated after her death, so the jury had no physical evidence to consider how she died.

The Tulsa World terminated Williford's contract as an independent carrier after his arrest in a non-fatal attack on another woman.