Pa. jury convicts man in carjacking murder, rape

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Philadelphia man could face the death penalty after a suburban jury found him guilty of carjacking a couple before killing the man and repeatedly raping his girlfriend.

A jury must now decide if 28-year-old Omar Cash should be condemned to death or serve life in prison after they convicted him today of first-degree murder, rape and other charges.

Prosecutors say Cash carjacked 32-year-old Edgar Rosas-Gutierrez and his girlfriend outside a Philadelphia nightclub in May 2008. They say he forced Rosas-Gutierrez to drive while he raped the woman then ordered Rosas-Gutierrez out of the car and shot him in the head. Investigators say the woman later escaped from Cash at a New Jersey motel.

Cash’s lawyers suggested the woman lied about the shooting in order to legalize her immigration status.