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Except this “one incident” was an act of such horrific brutality that it left the victim nearly decapitated, drowning in her own blood after Khairi hacked her throat open with a kitchen knife. He did not stop there. To be sure his wife of three decades was dead, he brandished a smaller knife and stabbed Randjida Khairi five more times in the torso and back. He then crafted at least three separate versions of what happened, spinning a web of lies for police, doctors and the court.

After three full days of deliberations, punctuated by occasional questions of law, jurors returned shortly after noon Sunday with a guilty verdict, prompting Crown attorney Robert Kenny to laud their dedication.

“The jury had to figure out what of the accused’s version of events they accepted, and I think by their verdict, it seems to me at least to indicate they didn’t accept much of it,” Mr. Kenny said on the courthouse steps.

He praised the police investigators who eked a confession from a reticent Khairi on the night of his arrest: “[They] took a whole lot of circumstantial evidence and put together what was a very compelling case, and I think the jury agreed.”

With Khairi due back in court Tuesday for formal sentencing, jurors were asked to offer recommendations on his parole ineligibility, which could range anywhere from 10 to 25 years. Seven jurors offered no recommendation. Three suggested 10 years, and one called for the maximum 25-year ineligibility period.