The man who confessed to the murders of two Chinese engineering graduate students was convicted on Monday of first-degree murder.

Javier Bolden was convicted for the fatal shooting of Ming Qu and Ying Wu near the University of Southern California (USC) on April 11, 2012. The couple were killed while sitting double parked inside their vehicle roughly a mile from the said campus.

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Special circumstances were considered in the deliberation of the murder charges against Bolden, in which prosecutors did not ask for the death penalty. Hence, he would possibly face life imprisonment without the opportunity to seek parole. Bolden's sentencing will be held on Nov. 17.

Bolden, 22, was also found guilty of assault with a firearm and attempted murder in unconnected shooting incidents, which happened in the previous months. These caused injuries to a woman and two men.   

The fatal shooting of the two Chinese students, both 23 years old, were said to have been confessed by Bolden to his cellmate. The confession was recorded by the cellmate, a police informant, which revealed the plan of the 22-year-old to steal the BMW of the couple.

However, defense attorney Andrew Goldman claimed that the confession was a lie as Bolden only disclosed that information to brag and look tough.

In seeking a plea deal to evade the death penalty, Bryan Barnes, the other suspect who shot at the vehicle, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in February. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

The slayings sparked international uproar and ignited fears in China regarding the safety and protection of the students overseas. This case incited the university to implement stricter protection in the campus.

According to David Carlisle, the deputy chief of USC Department of Public Safety, the incident prompted USC to add 60 security cameras. License plate readers, as well as roughly 178 cameras in every 1.8 square mile area including blocks found off the campus, were also positioned.

TagsMurder, shooting, slaying, University of Southern California, Ming Qu, Ying Wu, Javier Bolden, Andrew Goldman, Bryan Barnes