Jacksonville man found guilty of first-degree murder in shooting death of ex-girlfriend

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville man accused of shooting two sisters, killing one, on Halloween five years ago was found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday afternoon.

Chad Absher was also found guilty of attempted murder. Before the verdicts were read by the jury, he changed his plea to guilty for the third charge he was facing, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Man found guilty in ex-girlfriend murder trial

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Absher faces life in prison for the murder of Ashlee Rucker, his ex-girlfriend. Her sister Lisa, who was shot in the head, survived the shooting. Lisa took the stand Tuesday and said it was Absher who pulled the trigger.

Absher took the stand Thursday to share his account of what happened that night. Absher claims the bullet that hit Lisa was actually meant for him.

In the courtroom, Absher said Ashlee is the one who got a hold of his rifle and pointed it at him, but he moved out of the way and it hit Ashlee’s sister Lisa, who was in front of him.

Absher claimed he was messing around with the other sister.

RELATED: Family: Jacksonville man accused of killing girlfriend, shooting sister is innocent

Then he claims he tried to wrestle the rifle away from her and that’s when Ashlee shot herself in the back of the head. But the prosecution argued that would’ve been an impossible maneuver.

“Maybe you should grab it and show the jurors,” Absher said, suggesting the prosecuting attorney demonstrate how the trigger would have been hard to reach for Ashlee.

So that’s what she did. The rifle measured three feet with a tape measurer. The attorney demonstrated how her hand falls short.

RELATED: Jacksonville woman injured in double shooting releases note from hospital bed

The prosecution pointed out the 10-inch and 61-pound difference between Absher and Lisa.

According to an arrest warrant, the double shooting started over an argument about Absher’s car keys escalated and he choked her. It states a witness heard two gunshots a few seconds apart, saw Absher with a rifle or shotgun and found both victims with gunshot wounds to their heads.

During direct examination, Absher explained why he ran away after the shooting and took the rifle with him.

“Cause I was a coward,” he said and admitted to taking the rifle with him.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

In 2017, Action News Jax showed you exclusive video of Absher being handcuffed and put in the back of a police cruiser after a massive police search for him.

Absher is a two-time convicted felon, so he didn’t own the rifle legally. However, he denies that he shot Ashlee or Lisa and said in court he has no idea how Ashlee could have shot herself.

The Rucker family has been pushing for the death penalty.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

“He tried to kill two people and one of their children -- and succeeded with one. So I don’t think he should be alive right now,” Lisa Rucker said ahead of the trial.

The judge told jurors on Monday that the state would not be seeking the death penalty.

Action News Jax will have the latest updates from court on CBS47 and FOX30 Action News Jax.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.