TAMPA — Prosecutors with the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office secured a guilty verdict and death penalty recommendation for the man who murdered his girlfriend and her 10-year-old son following an argument over what the family would watch on TV.

A 12-member jury unanimously recommended Wednesday that Tyrone Johnson receive the death penalty.

The jury’s decision came five days after they found Johnson guilty of second-degree murder for killing Stephanie Willis and both first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse for killing Stephanie’s son Ricky “Ryon” Willis.

Judge Christopher Sabella will weigh the evidence and decide whether to approve the jury’s recommended sentence in the coming weeks.

Stephanie was a home health aide. Ryon was a student who played the drums in his elementary school’s fifth-grade music ensemble.

Stephanie Willis and son Ricky "Ryon" Willis (File image)

Assistant State Attorneys John Terry, Teresa Hall, and Karyna Valdes prosecuted the case and secured the guilty verdict following a two-week trial.

Prosecutors said Johnson called 911 on the evening of October 21, 2018 and told the operator he had just shot two people. Johnson claimed that they had attacked him, and he shot them to protect himself. First responders found the two victims close together, but as detectives examined the physical evidence, it became clear Johnson was not under attack when he killed them.

Detectives determined that Johnson and his girlfriend got into an argument over what the family would watch on TV, and during that confrontation, Johnson shot her multiple times. The boy tried to hide from Johnson and crawled under his bed to keep from being found. He was shot several times while under the bed.

Johnson then moved the victims’ bodies in an attempt to stage the scene for his phone call to 911 and his claim that he was defending himself, prosecutors said.