UNION • A Franklin County jury on Thursday convicted a Pacific man of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his girlfriend and recommended that a judge sentence him to death.

Defense attorneys for Vernell Loggins Jr., 39, had sought a second-degree murder verdict, but prosecutors successfully argued that he showed "cool reflection" and deliberation when he stabbed Stephanie Fields 25 times.

Loggins, a trucker, did not take the stand.

Jurors deliberated nearly six hours on Wednesday and another hour on Thursday before returning the verdict of first-degree murder.

After five hours of further deliberation, the jury recommended the death penalty for Loggins.

"The death penalty isn't quite as gruesome as the death my daughter went through, but and least he's not going anywhere," said Harold Fields, Stephanie's father.

A judge will ultimately determine if Loggins gets life in prison or the death penalty. Sentencing is set for March 12.

Maintenance workers found parts of Fields' body Nov. 3, 2009, under ice in a trash can at the Monroe Woods Apartments in Pacific, where Loggins lived. Her head and forearms had been cut off and the trash can had been glued shut. She was 25 and had a daughter, who is now 13.

Jurors, who were sequestered in a hotel during the trial, saw graphic photos of Fields' body. They also saw a video of Loggins buying a trash can, glue, carpet cleaner and Tide detergent from the Walmart in Eureka a day before Fields' body was found. Fields' blood was found in every room of Loggins' apartment, even on the ceiling fan.

The jury heard testimony Thursday from families of Fields and Loggins.

Loggins' older sister Erica Tullison of Memphis, Tenn., told the jury of hiding in a closet from their abusive father, who threatened their mother with a gun and fired shots around their home. Two other sisters told of their love for Loggins, as did his mother.

Another sister had to be taken from the courthouse to a hospital by stretcher after suffering heart problems after the verdict was announced.

His fifth-grade teacher, Charles Allen, also of Memphis, told the jury that Loggins was an inquisitive child, and he kept a log of the questions Loggins asked as a student in an inner-city school. Allen even visited Loggins in jail following his arrest for Fields' murder.

"Vernell was one of the special ones," Allen told the jury.

Fields' mother, Faith Fields of House Springs, told of how her daughter sang to her sister before they fell asleep as children, and how she'd exclaim, "Dad, let's kick it," and dance with him to songs on the radio.

She misses her daughter's laugh.

"But sometimes I hear it though, in her daughter," she said.