No verdict was reached Wednesday during the first day of deliberations in the trial of the Army staff sergeant accused of killing two Hudson Valley soldiers in Iraq.

The jury is deciding if Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez is guilty of murdering his superior officers, Capt. Philip Esposito, of Rockland, and 1st Lt. Louis Allen, of Orange, in Iraq in 2005. Martinez is accused of detonating a bomb that killed Esposito and Allen.

Martinez could face the death penalty if convicted of premeditated murder in two deaths.

Several family members of the slain soldiers traveled to Fort Bragg, N.C. to await the verdict while two of Allen's aunts are watching the proceedings via video feed at West Point.

The jury will begin its second day of deliberations Thursday.

Closing arguments heard in fragging trial