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Dale Hausner

Live from the courtroom: Serial Shooter Dale Hausner was sentenced to hundreds of years in prison today on top of the six death penalties he received last week for a killing spree that lasted more than a year across the Phoenix area.

Shackled and dressed in jail stripes, Hausner told the judge to “let me have it” before his final sentenced was read. “I’m not going to point the finger at anyone else,” he said.

The final tally of his sentence came to 364 years plus two consecutive life terms in prison, guaranteeing that Hausner, 36, will never see the outside world again.

The former airport janitor was convicted earlier this month of six murders and 74 other crimes. A jury sentenced him Friday to death for each murder, and Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Roland Steinle handed down the sentences this morning for the remaining convictions.

Dale Hausner, center, listens on Friday as a court clerk reads the jury’s decision that he should be put to death for six murder convictions. Pool photo

In the end, he did not fight it nor did he hardly even acknowledge it was happening. Dale Hausner was handed his death in multiples on Friday, sentenced to a punishment equal to each life he took from the world. The so-called Serial Shooter barely blinked as the judgement was read. Afterward, he simply thanked the judge, thanked the jury and was led quietly out of courtroom in handcuffs.

It’s hard to know what Hausner meant by his simple thank yous to the people who had just sent him to death row. Was it a sign of respect to the court? Gratitude for giving him the punishment he asked for a day earlier? Or was it meant as sarcasm to a group he thought had wronged him?

Dale Hausner

Live from the courtroom: Serial Shooter Dale Hausner, who killed at least six people and wounded many more, was sentenced today in downtown Phoenix to the ultimate penalty: death.

Hausner remained still and unemotional as the courtroom clerk read the jury’s decision about what his punishment should be. And he stood even stiller yet, flanked by his attorneys, as the judge handed down the official sentence moments later. The only comment he made was to thank the judge after he received death times six. “Thank you, your honor.”

A deputy then placed pink handcuffs on his wrists and escorted him past the jury, out of the courtroom.

Hausner was convicted March 13 of six murders and 74 other crimes in a killing spree that stretched more than a year. The killings typically took place at night, with Hausner usually targeting people walking or bicylcing by themselves on Valley streets. A number of animals were also killed or maimed in the shooting spree.

Today is the day serial killer Dale Hausner learns whether he will be put to death for his crimes. The jury has reached a decision on the death penalty in six murder convictions, and is expected to announce their choice any minute this morning in a downtown Phoenix courtroom.

I am in the courtroom and will be covering the verdict live. Check www.twitter.com/SerialShooter for constant updates. Then check back here later for a full wrap up.

Serial killer Dale Hausner reminds jurors how many murders they found him guilty on two weeks ago. The statements came just before he asked them to sentence him to death. Pool photo by Pat Shannahan

Live from the courtroom: Serial Shooter Dale Hausner asked a jury today to sentence him to death in each of his six murder convictions, saying victims and their families needed it so they could begin to heal.

During a rambling, 30-minute speech to the jury, Hausner walked the fence between apologizing to victims and denying responsibility for the 80 crimes in which he was convicted. “I do not agree with your decision,” Hausner told jurors about their guilty verdicts less than an hour before the the 12-person panel was asked to begin deciding his fate. “But 12 sane and rational people didn’t believe me and believed Sam Dieteman.”

Dale Hausner

Live from the courtroom: Family members of some of the people murdered by serial killer Dale Hausner gave teary-eyed and emotional statements in court this morning, just hours before jurors will be asked to decide whether the Phoenix-area man should pay the ultimate price for his crimes.

The mother of victim David Estrada and the sister of victim Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz stood before the jury and spoke in-depth about the pain they’ve experienced since their loved ones were murdered.

“His life was cut so suddenly and so cruelly,” said Rebecca Estrada, whose son was killed in June 2005 at age 20. “And I just can’t tell you the devastation and the emptiness that we all feel without David.”

Live from the courtroom: The serial killer who stalked the Valley for more than a year officially waived his opportunity today to present evidence that could convince a jury to spare his life. Dale Hausner, nicknamed the “Serial Shooter,” began the final phase of his marathon murder trial this morning by telling the judge he wanted to give up the chance to defend himself against the death penalty.

Hausner was convicted earlier this month in a downtown Phoenix courtroom of six murders and 74 other crimes in a killing spree that lasted more than 12 months during 2005 and 2006. On Tuesday, the jury that convicted him also ruled that he is eligible under Arizona law to face the death penalty.

Hausner’s defense attorney, Ken Everett, also told Judge Roland Steinle this morning that his client has instructed the legal team to stay quiet when they have the chance to argue for a life sentence. “That is over our objection as well,” Everett said.

Serial Shooter Dale Hausner testifies in his own murder trial earlier this year, just weeks before a jury convicted him of six murders and 74 other crimes in a year-long killing spree. File photo

Jurors took just two hours today to decide serial killer Dale Hausner is eligible for the death penalty under Arizona law. The lightening-fast decision means the 36-year-old former Mesa resident will now head to the final phase of his marathon murder trial in which the same jury will determine whether, in fact, he deserves to be put to death.

In all, jurors found him eligible for the death penalty in each of the six murders they convicted him of on March 13. The decisions came in the murders of victims David Estrada, Nathaniel Schoffner, Jose Ortis, Marco Carillo, Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz and Robin Blasnek. All were gunned down by Hausner in separate nighttime shootings in 2005 and 2006, stretching across the Phoenix valley.