A Hanford man accused of murdering a local couple and setting fire to their home to cover it up will not be going to trial after abruptly pleading guilty to murder this week.

Steven Edward Martella, 53, was arrested in August 2007 in conjunction with the shooting deaths of Terry Gaitan, 53, and Anne Marie Bruce, 34, a couple that he reportedly had an argument with regarding the suspect's alleged love interest in Bruce.

On Aug. 22, 2007, a fire broke out at a home in the 700 block of East Myrtle Street. Firefighters sifting through the rubble located the bodies of both Gaitan and Bruce in the wreckage of the building, who were later confirmed to have been shot sometime prior to the fire.

During his arraignment days after the arrest, Martella pleaded not guilty to all charges leveled against him, despite having reportedly admitted his involvement in the deaths during his arrest by Kings County Sheriff's deputies.

The Kings County District Attorney's Office was pursuing the death penalty against Martella, on two felony charges of murder, burglary in the first degree, arson of an inhabited structure and possession of an assault weapon.

According to court documents, prosecutors dropped the death penalty from the case on Monday when Martella made his guilty plea. Instead, he will be facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The case was scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 20.

Prosecutors also dismissed the charges of burglary, arson and possession of an assault weapon in exchange for the two counts of murder.

Martella will return to court on Nov. 3 to face sentencing.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(Oct. 3, 2008)