A straight man was convicted Aug. 6 of killing two men during a robbery.

Samuel Joseph Graham III, 26, faces a life term in state prison without the possibility of parole since a jury found a special circumstance true that Graham murdered Rock Walker, 51, and his friend, Daniel Collins, 50, during a burglary on April 18, 2007.

Walker was openly gay and acting as a caretaker for a 70-year-old man who was hospitalized for a heart condition at the time of Walker’s death. The slayings took place in a ransacked duplex in the 300 block of Woodman Street near Skyline Drive.

The bodies were found April 24, 2007 by relatives of the hospitalized man. Walker and Collins had been dead for days, according to Deputy District Attorney Allen Brown. The men were found in separate rooms.

Sentencing was set for Sept. 8 by San Diego Superior Court Judge Bernard Revak. The jury also found a special circumstance true that Graham killed multiple victims. Graham lived with his girlfriend in Carmel Valley at the time.

Brown said it’s not certain how Graham met Walker, but he said both had used Teligence, a social networking phone line that has a number of services, such as gay dating. Graham is straight, but Brown said Graham and Walker had used the Teligence features on their phones before they met.

A custodian of records for Teligence was called by the prosecutor to document the use of the phone line by Walker and Graham.

“The defendant was looking through these chat lines … looking for victims to rob,” Brown said.

Investigators found Graham’s bare footprint in the victim’s bathroom, said Brown. They also found Graham’s palm print on Walker’s bedroom door. Walker was only wearing a shirt and had been stabbed from seven to nine times in the back, said the prosecutor.

Collins was straight and a friend of Walker’s. Evidence suggests he showed up after Walker had been killed. Collins was stabbed nine times in the back.

The 70-year-old man’s computer, safe, DVDs, television, speakers and van were stolen. The computer was used by Graham’s girlfriend a day after the murder, though she isn’t a suspect in the crime. San Diego Police recovered the computer, TV and a gun taken from the safe. The van was found abandoned in Encinitas. The safe was never recovered.

The jury began deliberations on July 31, discussing th case for nearly five days before reaching guilty verdicts for first-degree murder. The jury also convicted Graham of robbing the victims before their deaths. The death penalty was not sought.

A message was left with Graham’s attorney after the verdict, but she could not be reached for comment. Graham has been convicted of burglary, evading police and petty theft. He remains in the Downtown central jail without bail.