Utah Jury Finds Doctor Guilty in Wife’s Death

Martin MacNeill was convicted of drugging his wife after cosmetic surgery and leaving her to die in a bathtub

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A Utah jury convicted a doctor of murdering his wife six years ago, ending a high-profile case that rocked the Mormon community.

Martin MacNeill, 57, was found guilty of drugging his wife Michele MacNeil after cosmetic surgery and leaving her to die in a bathtub.

Martin MacNeill faces 15 years to life for first-degree murder and an additional one to 15 years for obstruction of justice at his sentencing on Jan. 7. The jury took 11 hours to deliberate and reached a decision just after 1 a.m. on Saturday, the Associated Press reports.

MacNeill was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the medical director at the Utah State Development Center, a home for people with cognitive disorders. Testimony against the defendant included his daughters, who accused their father of the alleged murder, his mistress and several prisoners who claimed the doctor acknowledged killing his wife while in jail.

[AP]