Man convicted and sentenced to life in prison for 1999 killings of "two precious girls" in Alabama

An Alabama jury on Thursday ruled a man convicted of the 1999 slaying of two teenage girls should spend the rest of his life in prison, capping a cold case with strange twists that rocked a small city for over two decades.

The ruling comes a day after jurors convicted Coley McCraney, 49, of capital murder for the deaths of Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley, court records show. The panel on Thursday determined that McCraney should serve the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to CBS affiliate WTVY and court records.

"We lost two precious girls...who didn't have the opportunity to grow up and experience life," Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a press conference after the sentencing decision.