USA - Arizona. A Pima County jury today decided that Christopher Payne should receive the death penalty

A Pima County jury today decided that Christopher Payne should receive the death penalty for killing 2 of his children in 2006.. Ariana Payne, 3, and Tyler Payne, 4, were slowly starved to death, locked in a closet and physically battered by their father. Defense attorney said Payne was addicted to heroin and because of his substance abuse he wasn't entirely responsible for his actions. He didn't harm his other son, now 3, who also lived with him at the time, along with his girlfriend Reina Irene Gonzales, 24, the mother of that child. Gonzales pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 22-year prison sentence. Payne said the children starved themselves because he told them he would not return them to their mother, Jamie Hallam. Payne, 30, white, said he didn't seek help for the 2 children when they stopped eating because he didn't want to get into trouble.