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 Freeland at her Glendon, Alta., home in May 2014 to save her own life.
On Tuesday, a jury in St. Paul reached their verdict after two and a half hours of deliberations.
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.