A 21-year-old North Carolina man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the 2015 murders of four people, including a former America’s Next Top Model contestant, PEOPLE confirms.
Serbian model Mirjana Puhar was fatally shot on Feb. 24, 2015, by two alleged robbers after the 19-year-old opened the door to her boyfriend’s Charlotte, North Carolina, apartment.
The two alleged robbers then killed Puhar’s boyfriend, 23-year-old Jonathan Alvarado, and Jusmar Gonzaga-Garcia, 21, who was Alvarado’s best friend and roommate. prosecutors have said. The bodies weren’t discovered until three days later.
Prosecutors said Alvarado was targeted because of his chosen profession: he was a heroin dealer.
On Wednesday, jurors convicted one robber, Edward Sanchez, on four counts of first-degree murder. The other alleged robber, Emmanuel Rangel, still faces his own murder trial stemming from the killings.
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Puhar starred in cycle 21 of the popular reality competition, but was eliminated in the 10th episode of the season, which aired during the latter part of 2014.
Sanchez was also found guilty of the murder of Rosool Harrell, a 22-year-old Xanax dealer who was shot three times in the on Feb. 22, 2015.
Sanchez received a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for each of the four deaths.
At trial, prosecutors told jurors Puhar’s blood was recovered from Sanchez’s boots and clothing.
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Sanchez’s former girlfriend, Emily Isaacs, testified against him during the trial, recalling how she and Sanchez drove more than 1,000 miles after the killings as they attempted to cross the Mexican border to safety.
She, too, faces a single murder charge but has yet to stand trial.
Both Isaacs and Rangel have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Sanchez’s lawyer was unavailable for comment as were Puhar’s relatives.