Debbie Doonanco found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in husband's death
CBC News | Posted: November 29, 2016 11:05 PM | Last Updated: November 30, 2016
Glendon, Alta., woman admitted to crime but pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defence
A retired small-town school teacher has been found guilty of second-degree murder, after a jury determined she shot her ex-husband then set his body and the house on fire.
Debbie Doonanco admitted to the crimes but pleaded not guilty. She claimed self-defence, insisting she shot Kevin Feland at her Glendon, Alta., home in May 2014 to save her own life.
On Tuesday, a jury of eight men and four women in St. Paul reached their verdict after two and a half hours of deliberations.
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Janani Whitfield, publisher of the St. Paul Journal, was in the courtroom for the verdict.
"A lot of sighs of relief and 'Thank Gods' from the victim's side," Whitfield said.
"I could just see the side of Deborah Doonanco's face. She was kind of stoic at first. Her parents were sitting to the right of me and were quite devastated."
The judge revoked Doonanco's bail, and set a sentencing hearing date for January.
Doonanco, 53, was also found guilty of arson and committing an indignity to a body.
She faces a life sentence with no chance of parole for from 10 to 25 years.
Defence lawyer plans to appeal the verdict
During the trial, defence lawyer Brian Beresh argued Doonanco suffered from battered wife syndrome and called her to testify in her own defence.
On Tuesday, he questioned whether the jury "actually understood" his argument.
"We're very disappointed in what appears to be less than a two-hour effort by the jury for actual deliberations, and I fail to see how they could have considered 46 exhibits and seven to eight weeks of trial in that short period of time," Beresh said.
He said Doonanco is "very upset and very surprised" by the brief deliberations and the resulting verdict.
"We will complete the sentencing phase and then we will be proceeding with an appeal," Beresh said.