WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- Jurors took only an hour yesterday to unanimously decide that Jeffrey R. Martin should be put to death for the 2006 rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl who lived near the Greene County farm where he worked.

The sentence, delivered on the trial's seventh day, was met with a collective gasp, and then tears, hugs and smiles from family and friends of the victim, Gabrielle Miranda Bechen, who was known as Gabby.

Among the most emotional in the group was Jennifer Martin, 24, of Greensburg, one of Mr. Martin's two daughters from a prior marriage, who cheered the imposition of the death penalty against her father.

She first met Gabby's parents, Chris and Mimi, on Thursday and offered them her condolences. Afterwards, for two days, the three sat together in the courtroom during the penalty phase, sometimes holding hands or with their arms around one another.

"My heart, my soul goes out to [Gabby's parents]. It's been hard on me the past two years. I wanted to get the chance to meet them and give them my condolences and my love," she said, her eyes filled with tears.

"Justice was made today for everyone that was hurt through the years by this monster. I just want to thank the district attorney, the troopers, and the jurors for taking a monster off the street."

She said Mr. Martin, 51, of New Geneva, Fayette County, sent her letters from prison in which he denied committing the crimes, but "I got my answer when I heard the testimony."

After deliberating for six hours over two days, the jury Thursday convicted Mr. Martin of first-degree murder, rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse and four counts of tampering with evidence.

The jury -- six men and six women -- rejected the testimony of Mr. Martin, the only defense witness, that the murder was committed by a mysterious man who ran out of gas near the farm where the defendant worked as a farmhand.

The jurors instead accepted Mr. Martin's confession to authorities five days after Gabby disappeared June 13, 2006.

In the taped confession played to the jury, Mr. Martin said that on that morning, he killed Gabby after she rode her small all-terrain vehicle from her home in Dunkard to the nearby 300-acre farm. He told authorities he panicked and strangled Gabby after she threatened to tell her parents he had molested her, an allegation he claimed was false.

Her disappearance precipitated a large-scale search of the rural area of Greene County by police and volunteers, two of whom found Gabby's buried ATV five days after she went missing. After confessing, Mr. Martin showed state police investigators where he buried her body, helmet and shoes in individual sites on the farm.

Yesterday, acting as a family spokeswoman, Shannon Presock, Gabby's neighbor and cousin by marriage, thanked the district attorney's office, state police, witnesses, search volunteers and all who have offered support and prayers recently and through the years.

"We know that Gabby's looking down and smiling because justice was served today," Ms. Presock said.

District Attorney Marjorie Fox, who handled the penalty phase, agreed.

"This is not something we look to do but justice was served for Gabby. We don't take any joy in having a death sentence imposed, but this is the law and this is the appropriate sentence for the crime that was committed.

"I believe it was pretty clear from the evidence that this was the appropriate sentence to impose."

Public Defender Harry Cancelmi said of the sentence: "Life is life and death is death and I don't have much comment other than that."

As for the guilty verdicts, he commended the DA's office for presenting its case in a very professional manner.

"Greene County jurors I've found to be very conscientious. ... The jury decided what their version of the facts were and I respect their decision."