Owensboro, Ky. ? A man was acquitted of murder, rape and arson in the slaying of a Western Kentucky University freshman who was attacked and set on fire at her residence hall.

Lucas Goodrum, 23, could have gotten the death penalty if found guilty of killing 18-year-old Katie Autry, who died of her burns at a hospital three days after being pulled from her smoldering room in 2003.

Lucas Goodrum, center, wipes tears from his face in Daviess Circuit Court as he sits with his attorneys, Kevin Hackworth and David Broderick, right, after Goodrum was found not guilty of the murder of Katie Autry on Monday in Owensboro, Ky. Autry was found raped, beaten and burned May 4, 2003, in her Western Kentucky University residence hall room. She died three days later.

The jury took about 2 1/2 hours to reach a verdict Monday. Goodrum wiped away tears and hugged one of his lawyers.

“I’m just happy justice has prevailed today,” Goodrum said at a news conference, surrounded by his family.

The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of Goodrum’s former co-defendant, Stephen Soules. The two were at the same fraternity party as Autry the night of the attack, and prosecutors said they followed her back to her room.

Soules pleaded guilty a year ago to raping and killing Autry, and he implicated Goodrum. Soules escaped the death penalty and received life in prison for his testimony.

The defense argued that Soules was a liar and that there was no evidence that Goodrum was in the dorm room that night. Also, Goodrum’s father and stepmother testified he was at their home in Scottsville, about 25 miles from the university in Bowling Green, by the time the fire alarms went off.

Prosecutor Chris Cohron said that sprinklers had gone off in the dorm room and that water and fire damage made it difficult to collect evidence. And he accused Goodrum’s parents of lying to protect him.

Autry’s family quickly left the courthouse in tears. Autry’s aunt, Virginia White, expressed shock at the verdict.

“I still feel like he was guilty,” she said.