Jacques Delisle conviction takes many by surprise

Former Court of Appeal judge Jacques Delisle has been found guilty of first degree murder in the death of his invalid wife.

The judgement came late Thursday afternoon after a month long trial that captivated the attention of Quebecers.

According to the Canadian Press, Delisle called 9-1-1, in November 2009, telling the operator that his wife, Marie-Nicole Rainville, had committed suicide as she lay on a sofa, a .22-calibre pistol at her side and a bullet wound in her head.

Delisle's wife was paralyzed on her right side by a stroke two years earlier and had just undergone therapy for a hip fracture that summer.

While initially ruling the death a suicide, police began to suspect foul play after finding gunshot powder residue deep within the palm of Rainville's hand. Her palm, they deduced, would not have been stained with residue had she been grasping the gun.

At the trial, the Crown argued that Delisle killed his 71-year-old spouse because he wanted to avoid a costly divorce and wanted to move in with his former secretary, with whom he had been having an affair.

Ultimately, the Crown was able to convince the the eight-man, four-woman jury of this, whose judgement makes Delisle the first Canadian judge ever to be found guilty of murder.

"When the guilty verdict was announced in court Thursday, Delisle's family "just erupted into sobs," CTV News' Maya Johnson reported.

Delisle's son was so emotional that security guards had to escort him out of the courtroom, Johnson said. He had started to behave erratically, taking off items of clothing and cursing.

"He wanted to give his father a hug. He said he wanted just one chance to be close to his father before he went off to jail and he was not allowed to approach his father," she said.

"He was quite upset by this."

Johnson noted that the verdict seemed to take a lot of people in the courtroom by surprise.

It also took lot of people -- outside the courtroom -- by surprise.

Justice columnist Pierre-Paul Noreau of the Sun, was perplexed by the guilty charge, claiming there was only circumstantial evidence against Delisle.

He wrote that there was no direct evidence, no witnesses to the murder, and no prints on the murder weapon.

Criminal lawyer Serge Goulet says Delisle's counsel may have erred by not calling him to the witness stand to defend himself.

"The decision not to testify may make it's way into the minds of jurors and affect their verdict," he told journalist Matthew Boivin.

Delisle, 77, will automatically receive the sternest possible sentence in the Criminal Code: life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

There is, however, speculation that he might appeal.