A 36-year-old Philadelphia man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal burning of his ex-girlfriend in her Reading home in 2009.
Donald Williams Jr. showed no visible emotion as jurors announced the verdict Wednesday in a Berks County courtroom crowded with about 30 relatives of the victim, 49-year-old Maria Serrano, and more than a dozen guards.
Williams also was convicted of arson, rape and related charges.
The same jury will determine whether to sentence Williams to death or life in prison.
Prosecutors said Williams broke into Serrano's home in June 2009, pulled her out of the shower and stabbed her in the head with a screwdriver before pushing her down steps, dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire.
She died six weeks later.
