Category: Lawrence Douglas Harris Sr.

Lawrence Harris, 26, who had an interest in witchcraft, told police his two stepdaughters had died when a spell he cast to protect their teenage brother reversed itself, killing them. His attorneys attempted to prove he was legally insane.

But after two weeks of testimony, jurors took only a couple of hours Thursday to find Harris guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.

Police testified they took black and white candles from Harris’ home last January, along with bells, a necklace, and several books on Witchcraft.

The knife Police found in a master bedroom closet tested positive for Alysha Suing’s blood and Larry Harris’ fingerprints.

After more than a year of preparation and several delays, a jury will hear from attorneys and witnesses today as the double-murder trial of Lawrence Douglas Harris Sr. begins.

Harris, 26, is accused of killing his young stepdaughters during some kind of ritual. He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers will try to prove that he was legally insane when the crimes were committed.

In the basement, officers find candles, Larry’s ritual knife, stained with DNA from one of the girls, a symbol of Baphomet, representing Satan and believed to have occult power, bells and an amulet with an inverted pentagram — all items used in rituals described in “The Satanic Bible.”

Larry tells police he has a spell notebook in his and Marla’s bedroom closet. The notebook contains drawings from the book “Pagan Ways,” references found in the occult fiction book “Necronomicom” and page numbers corresponding to “The Satanic Bible,” including one specific spell.

Marla Harris said Wednesday she still doesn’t know what happened Sunday at the home she shared with her husband, who is accused of killing her daughters in a ritual slaying.

Lawrence Douglas Harris Sr. told police he “had been casting a spell that had gone bad, and that the spell could have had severe consequences,” according to court documents.

Their stepfather, Lawrence Douglas Harris Sr., 25, has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kendra Suing, 10, and Alysha Suing, 8.