PAW PAW, Mich. — Little more than a year ago Kimberly’s Bogseth’s body was found in a wooded area near her home in Grand Junction. A friend who was looking for her testified during trial last week that it was the “smell of death” that led him to the exact location of her body.

Weeks later, her husband Brent Bogseth was charged with open murder. Friday, he was found guilty.

“I'm pleased to death that he’s found, was found guilty of first degree,” said Kimberly’s aunt and godmother Cheryl Cook. “So he will get life.”

The jury delivered the verdict after sitting through a week and a half of trial at the Van Buren County courthouse. They listened to witnesses describe the days surrounding Kimberly’s disappearance and death. They heard from a former roommate who said Brent was acting strange around the time Kimberly went missing, from not eating to washing his clothes with too much bleach.

Jurors heard from the man who allegedly had an affair with her. He was the one to actually find her body when he saw a hand sticking out of the ground. They also heard from several detectives, who were the first to examine the body while it was still in the woods.

“The last two weeks we’ve seen him everyday, it was horrific,” said Cook during an interview at the courthouse. “The pictures they showed what he did to her, were just absolutely horrible. That, if he loved her for the last 19 years how could he do such a thing to her?”

Jury deliberations began Thursday afternoon and carried on through Friday morning. An hour after lunch, the jury delivered the guilty verdict. Family members in the gallery burst into tears. Brent’s mother walked over to the Kimberly’s family and apologized.

“It's not her fault,” said Mandy Choyinski about the gesture. “It’s her loss too. That’s sad. I feel bad for her."

Choyinski was a good friend of the Bogseth’s she said. Kimberley was the first friend she made in high school. Now, she misses her friend.

“I lost two friends throughout this whole situation,” said Choyinski. “It's been really hard. Never, ever going to get Kim back. But you know we got justice. And that’s all that really matters.”