Lawyer: Man who killed baby, grandmother not 'evil person'

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- The lawyer for the Montgomery County man convicted of murdering a baby and her grandmother said his client is not an 'evil person.'

This, as a jury will be asked to weigh the death penalty.

A jury found Raghu Yandamuri guilty Thursday of two counts of first-degree murder.

The 28-year-old information technology worker, who came to the U.S. on a work visa from India, was convicted of killing 10-month-old Saanvi Venna and her 61-year-old grandmother Satyavathi Venna.

The case is now in the penalty phase.

His lawyer, Henry Hilles, says there are mitigating circumstances that should spare him the death penalty.

"Our position is, given everything he's been through, he is not an evil person, he's not the worst of the worst and, accordingly, he should not be put to death," Hilles said.

On Friday, Yandamuri's mother was first on the stand to plead for her son's life.

The prosecutor says the victim's family supports the death penalty for Yandamuri.

Venkata Venna, the father of baby Saanvi and son of Satyavati, and his brother Ram both testified as well on Friday.

Venkata told the jury he can't trust anyone now, and he can't sleep with visions of his baby's love and his mother's crime scene.

He was the one who found Satyavati dead on the kitchen floor of their apartment.

Yandamuri, who represented himself in the trial, told the judge he wants the death penalty and doesn't want to sit through the penalty phase however he was persuaded to stay.

"Justice was done today. This was a case that, we said from the beginning, had a mountain of evidence. It is clear that Mr. Yandamuri was responsible," said prosecutor Michael Steele.

The jury is expected to hear a full day of testimony in the penalty phase and will then begin another round of deliberations.