OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) – A 19-year-old Eagle Scout will face a life prison term after a jury rejected his claim that he was mentally ill and in a rage when he shot and stabbed a man to death.

The unanimous verdict by the jury of 10 women and two men came after only about two hours of deliberation in the five-day sanity trial of Gary Hirte, who had argued a sexual encounter with his victim sent him into the killing rage.

Hirte, who was an honor student and star athlete at Weyauwega-Fremont High School, had pleaded guilty to the murder of Glenn Kopitske, 37, at the victim’s rural Weyauwega home in summer of 2003, but he claimed he was not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

Hirte had no reaction when the verdict was read. His mother put her head down and later leaned against her husband and cried.

Shirley Kopitske, the victim’s mother, said she was satisfied with the verdict.

“We feel that justice has been done,” she said, but she added that the trial had been extremely difficult for her and her husband.

“It was like we were going through another funeral,” she said.

Defense lawyer Gerald Boyle said Hirte’s family was heartbroken.

He said he knew his case was in trouble when both court-appointed mental health experts testified they did not find Hirte to be mentally ill.

“But there’s nothing you can do about it,” Boyle said. “You can’t just get the reports and say, ‘Well, the doctors aren’t for us, so we have to throw in the towel.’ We can’t do that. It would be irresponsible to do that.”

Boyle said at least now the community has Hirte’s story of why the killing happened.

“It’s more important for the judge to have gotten a total picture, hearing all the doctors about this kid, so hopefully he won’t get life without parole, he’ll have a chance,” Boyle said.

With the verdict, Hirte faces a mandatory life prison term for first-degree intentional homicide instead of being sent to a mental institution for treatment.

Sentencing was scheduled March 17. The judge could make Hirte eligible for parole at some future date, or he could give him no possibility of parole.

Winnebago County District Attorney William Lennon said he didn’t know yet if he would recommend granting Hirte any possible parole.

Asked about Hirte’s reaction to the verdict, Boyle said: “He’s an amazingly interesting kid. He’s always been the same. He’s never been a problem, he’s very respectful, he’s recognized what he did. He knows he’s got to pay the price. He knows he may go to prison and die in prison. He accepts that. That’s what so confounding about it. It’s been that way from day one.”

He said he too had trouble believing Hirte’s story about the killing and gave him a polygraph test that said he was telling the truth.

In his closing arguments, Lennon called Hirte a cold-blooded, heartless murderer who concocted the story of a homosexual liaison but really murdered the victim to see if he could accomplish yet another of his goals.

Lennon said Hirte made up the story of sexual contact after seeing a crime lab report.

“The homosexual episode never took place and therefore Gary Hirte never experienced the rage or the ensuing shame he now uses to justify his murder,” Lennon said.

The defense said Hirte murdered Kopitske because he was in an “unbelievable” rage after he got drunk, had a chance meeting with Kopitske under a bridge and the two had sexual contact.