A St. Johns County jury late Thursday found James Turner guilty of killing woman in front of her three young children, along with four other charges.

Prosecutors said Turner -- who had escaped from a South Carolina prison -- stabbed Renee Howard 15 times in room at the Comfort Inn just off Interstate 95 at state Road 207 on Sept. 30, 2005. Turner also attacked her friend, who locked herself in the bathroom to get away from him.

After two days of testimony, a St. John County jury took only one hour to find Turner, 35, guilty of first-degree murder, grand theft of a vehicle, home-invasion robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault on a police officer.

This was Turner's second trial, with the first ending in a mistrial after a juror had a seizure during deliberations.

Turner was a fugitive from South Carolina jail and running from law enforcement at the time of the attack.

Police said Turner was looking for a new vehicle to steal and figured that two women traveling with children would be an easy target.

He followed Howard, her children and an 18-year-old friend as they left the swimming pool and went back to their room, where the attack occurred.

According to the police report, Howard's 2½-year-old son was found crouching in the corner of the room, "covered in blood."

Turner was captured hours after the attack following a police chase in which he intentionally wrecked his truck into a deputy's cruiser.

Prosecutors said they plan to seek the death penalty.

"This is one of the few cases where we believe that, among several other aggravating factors, we have the heinous, atrocious and cruel factor ... a factor that focuses solely on the suffering the victim endured during the murder," Assistant State Attorney Angela Corey told Channel 4.

Defense attorneys are expected to present evidence that Turner had a cocaine problem and was abused as a child.

The penalty phase of the trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.