Cedar City jury finds man guilty in counselor slaying

CEDAR CITY — A jury has convicted a man of murder in the death of a group home counselor.

Sean Graham, 20, was convicted of first-degree felony murder, aggravated kidnapping and theft charges late Wednesday after a day of deliberations in 5th District Court.

Graham was charged in the March 2004 death of Anson Arnett, a counselor at a group home for troubled teens. Police said Graham and Jesse Simmons hit Arnett in the head with a baseball bat and stuffed his body upside down in a closet.

Simmons struck a plea deal with prosecutors and received a five years to life sentence in 2005. Graham faces five years to life when he is sentenced on July 10. Iron County prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty against Graham because he was 17 at the time of the crime.