A California murder suspect was convicted in a Kansas courtroom on unrelated charges that arose after he was discovered in a storage facility with his dismembered wife's body parts while his children were present.

A jury convicted Justin Todd Rey, 36, formerly of Palm Springs, of two counts of child endangerment, two counts of contributing to a child’s misconduct and three counts of sexual exploitation of a child, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

He's scheduled to be sentenced March 27. Rey has other pending court appearances related to the dismembering of his wife, Jessica Monteiro Rey.

"Even though (Thursday's) guilty verdict may free the children from Justin, it serves no justice for Jessica and what he did to her," her sister, Sarah Monteiro, told The Desert Sun. "He should be locked up for life waiting the death penalty, suffering the way he made my sister suffer."

Rey's conviction is the latest in a convoluted series of events that led to charges being filed against him in three states: California, Kansas and Missouri. He still faces trial in Missouri and it's not clear when or if he'll be extradited to Riverside County, where he's accused of killing Palm Springs resident Sean Ty Ferel.

He was charged on Nov. 22, 2017, with the murder of Ferel, who investigators believe disappeared in May 2016 after going on a trip with the suspect.

They began linking Rey to Ferel's disappearance after an August 2016 collision in Los Angeles. Rey had been driving Ferel's vehicle and its trunk had traces of blood that were later found to be from Ferel, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant. Other evidence and witness statements also played a role in the investigation.

Local investigators received a series of handwritten letters from Rey, who claimed Ferel was cremated after dying in his sleep in Nevada or Arizona and argued Palm Springs had no jurisdiction over activity that happened out of state.

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The letters were sent while Rey was in custody in Kansas City, where authorities reported they found him and his two children at a Lenexa, Kan., storage facility in October 2017. He had his wife's remains and an affidavit says his baby wasn't wearing adequate clothing and had an eye infection.

He said his wife, Jessica Monteiro Rey, committed suicide shortly after giving birth in a Kansas City, Mo., hotel and he cut up her body in a bathtub days later while their children were present. Rey said he was bringing her body parts to Arizona for burial.

He said he didn't call authorities because police had taken other children from him and his wife in the past.

“It’s something I had to do,” Rey testified in court. “My family is very dear to me. It’s something I had to do to protect my family.”

A coroner couldn't determine how the woman died and Rey hasn't been charged in her death, but he was charged with abandonment of a corpse in Missouri and child endangerment in Kansas.

Rey made court appearances throughout 2018 and pornographic images were reportedly discovered in Rey's phone after he urged investigators to look through it for evidence that would help him in his trial.

The images led to the charges of sexual exploitation of a child.

Desert Sun reporter Colin Atagi covers crime, public safety, and road and highway safety. He can be reached at Colin.Atagi@desertsun.com or follow him at @tdscolinatagi

The Associated Press contributed to this story.