FRANKLIN, Pa. -- One day shy of 13 years after Shauna Howe was snatched from an Oil City street, a Venango County jury convicted two brothers of kidnapping the 11-year-old girl, sexually assaulting her and throwing her off a railroad bridge to die.

After deliberating for about 16 hours over two days, the jury yesterday found James and Timothy O'Brien guilty of second-degree murder and third-degree murder in the Oct. 27, 1992, kidnap-slaying of the Girl Scout.

The conviction means the brothers will serve life in prison without parole.

The jury also found the O'Briens, formerly of Oil City, guilty of kidnapping, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. It found them not guilty of first-degree murder and rape.

As the verdicts were read, Shauna's mother, Lucy Mae Brown, and other relatives embraced, held hands and bowed their heads. Shauna's uncle, Keith Sibble, pumped his right fist and mouthed "Yes!"

"This is justice," Mrs. Brown said. "I still have a hole in my heart but I needed it to be solved. They took a little girl's life. They spent 12 years living their lives. My daughter would have been 24, but what does she have? Nothing."

Mr. Sibble praised investigators and prosecutors for their relentless pursuit of the case. "[Today] would be 13 years ... we're never going to get Shauna back, but this was the last step we had to get through. These people will never hurt anyone again," he said.

The jury of six men and six women reached its verdict after a two-week trial. As word spread of the outcome in Franklin and nearby Oil City, residents began driving past the courthouse sounding their horns and shouting derisive remarks about the defendants.

James O'Brien chewed gum impassively as the verdicts were read. His brother also showed no visible emotion at the outcome.

Their mother, Linda O'Brien, and sister, Nancy Deeter, stared straight ahead and did not otherwise react. Later, in a typewritten statement given to reporters, they said they continued to believe "our boys did not do this crime."

The jury, which was chosen in Indiana County because of extensive publicity about the case in Venango County, was whisked away on a bus after the verdict.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys did not comment. They remained under a gag order imposed by Venango County Common Pleas Judge Oliver Lobaugh.

The order didn't prevent the prosecutor, Venango County District Attorney Marie Veon, and Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk, who assisted her, from smiling and accepting handshakes and well-wishes from the Howe family and investigators.

A shy brunette with a pageboy haircut, Shauna was abducted near the busy intersection of West First and Reed streets while walking home from a Girl Scout Halloween party. Her mother reported her missing about three hours after a witness called Oil City police to report he'd seen a thin, disheveled white man force a young girl into a red car.

Widespread searches over the next three days led to the discovery of her battered body under a railroad trestle about six miles away in Rockland.

Prosecutors said Shauna died there after her killers tossed her over the side of the trestle into boulder-strewn East Sandy Creek. An autopsy showed she died of head and chest injuries.

Shauna's slaying terrified residents of Venango County and much of Western Pennsylvania. It prompted residents of her hometown, about 70 miles north of Pittsburgh, to hold annual memorials on the anniversary of her abduction and permanently move trick-or-treating to daylight hours.

James O'Brien, 33, and Timothy O'Brien, 39, were serving time in state prisons for unrelated attacks when they were arrested in July 2004 in Shauna's slaying.

They were arrested after Eldred "Ted" Walker of Cranberry, Venango County, told police that he and the O'Briens had talked of abducting a child as a Halloween prank to make Oil City police look foolish.

Mr. Walker testified against the O'Briens under an agreement that allowed him to plead guilty to third-degree murder and kidnapping. He faces 20 to 40 years in prison.

In court, Mr. Walker said he snatched Shauna from an Oil City street as she walked home from the Halloween party. He handed her over to Timothy O'Brien, who was riding in a car with James O'Brien. He said the brothers drove away with her.

Mr. Walker said he later learned that the O'Briens had taken Shauna to his house. He heard a female voice crying, "Get off me, let me up, let me go" while the O'Briens were upstairs in a bedroom of his home.

Prosecutors presented DNA test results from an FBI laboratory that showed that semen found on Shauna's body and clothing came from James O'Brien.

Sentencing for the O'Briens was set for Jan. 24. Before that, both will be assessed to determine if they are sexually violent predators under Pennsylvania's Megan's Law.

Today's memorial walk for Shauna in Oil City was to begin at 7 p.m. The family said it will be the last one.

"[This] walk will be more of a celebration," Mr. Sibble said. "We're just going to remember Shauna. It'll be a glorious day."

This morning, Mrs. Brown said, she plans to go to the cemetery where her daughter is buried and tell her about the trial.

"I'm going to tell her what's been happening these two weeks, and tell her she can rest in heaven."

First Published: October 27, 2005, 4:00 a.m.