WWAY-TV reports 24-year-old Marshall Doran pleaded guilty to two counts of 1st degree murder and two counts of arson. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
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Doran set three separate fires that heavily damaged two condominium buildings and cars at Carolina Beach in 2014. Prosecutors said 43-year-old Darlene Maslar and 72-year-old Mary Cochran died. A firefighter and several people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
By pleading guilty, Doran avoided a trial and a possible death sentence.
Doran was also charged earlier in 2014 in Wake County after he allegedly killed two Good Samaritans in a DWI hit-and-run crash along Interstate 40 near Raleigh.
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Doran allegedly fled the scene after hitting 39-year-old Larry Kepley of Winston-Salem and 34-year-old Nathaniel Williams as they attempted to help drivers who lost control on the snow-covered interstate near the Wake-Johnston County line.
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Doran was found hiding in a wooded area near his car.
Williams was a member of the U.S. Navy who was stationed at Fort Bragg for special training. He was living in Hope Mills, and had just returned from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan the month before.
Prosecutors said Doran - who was a University of North Carolina at Wilmington student at the time - was driving under the influence and had illegal drugs in his possession as he drove from the coast to visit a girlfriend in Chapel Hill for Valentine's Day.
Prosecutors said in Doran's car, investigators found a receipt for strawberries, chocolate, and a bottle of wine. They contend he drank the wine on the drive west.
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He was charged with felony death by motor vehicle, hit and run, reckless driving, and DWI. His bond was originally set at $5 million, but was later lowered to $400,000 - allowing him to get out of jail.
That case is still pending.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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