Imprisoned Ohio man avoids death penalty in fire deaths

LIMA, Ohio (AP) — A man already serving a life sentence in Ohio has avoided being sentenced to death after being convicted of setting a fire that killed two people in Lima.

A jury today recommended two more life sentences for 30-year-old Hager Church.

Those same jurors found Church guilty last week of aggravated murder and aggravated arson in the 2009 fire.

Prosecutors say Church confessed to starting the fire that killed a 45-year-old woman and her boyfriend.

The Lima News reports that Church briefly apologized during the sentencing hearing.

Church already is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for a 2010 slaying. He was convicted of fatally beating a woman.