Howard Teen Guilty in Poisoning

Murphy, the prosecutor, responded that "the darkness that surrounds the defendant is evil," and she urged the jury to reject the theory that his judgment was impaired. "Many people suffer from depression," she said. "Many people are on antidepressants. They don't go out and kill."

State's Attorney Timothy J. McCrone, who prosecuted with Murphy, echoed that statement after the verdict: "Depression does not justify murder," he said. "The jury demonstrated common sense in coming to that conclusion."

Murtha told reporters that Furlough had prepared himself for a guilty finding on the charge of murder. "His anxiety level has reduced because there's at least closure to this aspect of it," Murtha said.

Since his arrest on Jan. 5, 2003, at the conclusion of a police interview, Furlough has been held without bail at the Howard County Detention Center. Judge Raymond J. Kane Jr. scheduled sentencing for July 20.

Furlough did not testify, but jurors heard from him extensively -- in e-mails and letters, in a forensic reconstruction of his Internet searches and, finally, in a videotaped statement he gave to police starting Jan. 4, 2003, a day after the slaying.

In the videotape, which jurors watched Thursday, Furlough first claimed innocence but then admitted killing Vassiliev, saying he had developed the plan beginning as early as September.

Although he rarely mentioned Caroline Smith, Vassiliev's girlfriend, he complained bitterly of his old friend's failure to give him gifts.

"When there was nothing again and again, I started to think for some reason or other he just doesn't care about me anymore," Furlough said.

"I was trying to forgive him because I didn't have many friends, and he was one of the best that I had."

But, "I wanted to do harm to him," Furlough said. "I wanted to kill him."

Murphy asked jurors to consider the level of planning that went into the poisoning. Furlough, she said, by his own admission developed the plan over several months -- choosing first to poison, then to use cyanide, determining a dosage and finally buying it over the Internet.

"He deliberated," she said. "He made choices at every step of the way."