WOBURN, Mass. – A former Missouri radio reporter has been found guilty of killing his wife by poisoning her with antifreeze.
A jury in Middlesex Superior Court convicted James Keown of first-degree murder Wednesday. They deliberated less than two days.
Keown faces an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.
Prosecutors said Keown was deeply in debt and killed his 31-year-old wife, Julie, in hopes of cashing in her $250,000 life insurance policy. Julie Keown died in September 2004 of a lethal dose of ethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze.
Authorities said James Keown spiked his wife's Gatorade with antifreeze while the couple lived in Waltham. After the killing, Keown returned to Missouri, where he worked at a radio station.
Keown's lawyer told the jury Julie Keown could have committed suicide or accidentally ingested the chemical.
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