NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. -- The jury announced their verdict on Thursday and found the man accused of killing four people in Hudson in August 2014 guilty.
“It was a really happy moment. We’ve been fighting for three years to get to this day,” said Daniel Leonard, father of victim Nick Leonard.
Matos was convicted of four counts of First-Degree Murder. He could face the death penalty. If the jury recommends capital punishment, the jury must make a unanimous decision.
“Either way his life is over. That’s basically all we can really ask for. Keep him off the streets,” said Leonard.
Attorney’s for Matos tried to convince the jury he acted in self defense against Leonard.
The penalty phase of the trial will begin Monday, Nov. 20 at 9:30 a.m.
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On Wednesday, Matos took the stand in his own defense and claimed that self-defense and "paranoia" led to the brutal quadruple-homicide.
During the trial, Matos calmly went over the day he killed his ex-girlfriend, her parents, and her new boyfriend.
He said he loved Megan Brown, the mother of their son, and is disgusted by what he did.
Adam Matos: Trial underway for Pasco County quadruple murder suspect
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. Those memories. I relive them every day.”
Matos says the violence started when he was attacked by Megan’s new boyfriend, Nicholas Leonard.
He told a Pasco County jury Wednesday that he feared for his life as Leonard choked him and put a gun to his chest inside this Hudson home.
He also says Megan’s father, Greg Brown, came in the room with a gun.
Matos admitted to stabbing Leonard with a knife during the fight.
Then he said he shot Brown because he thought Brown was going to kill him too.
He says he fired a gun near was Megan Brown was hiding, and the bullet ricocheted, hitting her in the eye.
When he realized he’d killed Megan, he says he lost it.
He then went back finish off the injured Leonard with a hammer.
He said he used that same hammer to ambush Megan’s mother Margaret Brown when she came home from work.
“I hit her over the head a few times.”
Matos says paranoia had taken over.
“I realize now that she probably wasn’t trying to kill me I was just out of it, so paranoid. In shock.”
Prosecutors disputed the order of the killings, based in part on a witness who heard gunshots.
#AdamMatos | Prosecutor says even if the jury believes the defendant's story, he still admitted to first degree murder. @abcactionnews pic.twitter.com/e0p7rumkXi
— Mary Stringini (@MaryWFTS) November 15, 2017
Even the judge seemed confused over Matos’ claiming self defense, specifically in reference to Margaret Brown.
Over the days that followed, Matos stayed in the house with his 4-year-old son.
He attempted to clean up the bloody scene.
The two were eventually found at a Tampa hotel.
“I was so lost, I didn’t know what to do. I was confused, I was sad. The world was just turned upside down and I didn’t have any plan.”
The boy is living with family out of state.
During the closing arguments on Wednesday, prosecutors argued that Matos did not act in self-defense claim and emphasized that he had plenty of time to think about his decisions before making them.
The defense attorney focused on trying to convince the jury that the homicides were crimes of passion and that they were not premeditated. If the jury would have decided that the homicides were crimes of passion, Matos could have been convicted on Manslaughter charges instead of Murder.
Sentencing will begin on Monday.
