A Franklin County jury will reconvene on March 24 to begin the sentencing phase of an aggravated-murder trial that could end in the death penalty. This morning, the jury of five women and seven men found Daniel Teitelbaum guilty of killing his poker-club business partner in 2011.

A New Jersey man didn�t flinch yesterday as a Franklin County judge pronounced him guilty of a murder that could put him on Death Row.

Common Pleas Judge Charles Schneider read the verdicts against Daniel Teitelbaum as the victim�s sister quietly cried on one side of the courtroom and the defendant�s brother sat stone-faced on the other side.

The jury found Teitelbaum guilty of aggravated murder, aggravated murder with prior calculation and aggravated burglary, all while possessing a gun. The jury also found him guilty of tampering with evidence for getting rid of the gun.

After sitting through 13 days of testimony that included details of cellphone records and emails, the jury took six hours to decide that Teitelbaum, 47, of Margate City, N.J., killed 54-year-old Paul Horn, whose bullet-riddled body was found on March 10, 2011, in his Grove City apartment.

Horn and Teitelbaum owned the Platinum Player�s Club, a private club in Grove City. Teitelbaum had sued Horn in 2010 for fraud and misappropriation of funds, and Horn was scheduled to give a deposition in that case on the day after his body was found.

Horn had been shot five times; the gun was never found despite numerous searches of the Scioto River by dive teams from Columbus police and the county sheriff�s office.

But prosecutors said evidence showed the gun used was the same type as one that a friend of Teitelbaum�s had bought in Seattle and sent to him in December 2010. That friend, Colin Reedy of Bellingham, Wash., is serving a four-year federal sentence for making false statements about the gun.

Reedy was the government�s star witness at the trial, testifying that Teitelbaum had asked him to kill Horn.

The sentencing phase of the trial will begin on March 24. After the jury hears testimony, it is to recommend a sentence of death, life without parole, life with parole eligibility after 30 years or life with parole eligibility after 25 years. Schneider will decide on a sentence.

Horn grew up in Manassas Park, Va., and was a divorced father of four daughters. He supported his family by playing poker in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, then ran a bar. He came to central Ohio in 2009 to open two private poker clubs.

His sister and brother-in-law, who wouldn�t comment or give their names yesterday, sat through the entire trial.

Before the verdict was read, Schneider warned those in court that he wanted �no cheering, no crying, no screaming.�

After the hearing, Horn�s sister hugged Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Solove, telling her � Thank you, thank you.�

An emotional Solove told her: �It�s the right thing.�

Solove and Assistant County Prosecutor Marla Farbacher handled the prosecution.

Adam Neumann, who represented Teitelbaum, said he would not talk about the verdict �under these circumstances.� Teitelbaum�s brother would not comment or give his name.

Teitelbaum has been in jail without bond since his arrest in December 2011.

kgray@dispatch.com

@reporterkathy