UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A jury on Thursday found a Maryland man guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbings of his 6-year-old sister and two female cousins more than five years ago.

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Antonio Shareek Willams, 30, of Clinton, was found guilty after jurors deliberated for approximately two hours. He was convicted for the August 2017 deaths of his sister, Nadiara Jadae Withers; and their cousins, Ajayah Royale DeCree and 9-year-old Ariana Elizabeth DeCree, WRC-TV reported.

Jurors found Williams guilty of three first-degree murders and three first-degree child abuse charges, the television station reported.

Williams could be sentenced to life in prison without parole when he appears in court on May 19, according to The Associated Press.

Williams allegedly told police that he stabbed the girls because they were too noisy and woke him up from a nap while he was supposed to be watching them at a residence in Clinton, WJLA-TV reported.

Williams’ mother had left him in their home to watch the children while she went to work her overnight nursing shift, WRC reported. When she returned home, the woman found the girls in their beds suffering from stab wounds, according to the television station.

“The kids were running up and down the steps. He told them to go back down,” said former assistant Prince George’s State Attorney Jonathan Church, who returned to the county from Howard County, according to WJLA. “He was angry and enraged and grabbed a knife from the kitchen, Church said. “He went down into that bedroom and stabbed each of those kids multiple times. In fact, there were 16 stab wounds between the three of them.”

Kenneth Withers, Nadiana’s father, told reporters after the verdict that he was happy to get some closure.

“I’m just happy these three innocent lives got the justice they deserve,” he said.

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