San Diego

A dentist was convicted Friday of first-degree murder in the 1987 slaying of his estranged wife.

The same San Diego Superior Court jury that convicted Dr. Douglas Dustin, 53, of Pasadena will reconvene Monday to determine if Dustin was insane at the time of the shooting.

The jury deliberated about two days before reaching its verdict after a three-week trial. The sanity phase is estimated to last about three or four days.

Adelheid (Heide) Dustin, 50, was shot in both breasts and in the head in the street near her home in La Jolla on Sept. 13, 1987.

Neighbors testified that they saw the victim running from a man with a gun who shot her and then shot her again as she lay in the street.

Dustin’s attorney, John Mitchell, had suggested a conviction on a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, while Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Carpenter asked for a first-degree murder conviction.

Psychiatrists who have examined the dentist will be the main witnesses in the sanity phase.

If found to be sane, Dustin faces a sentence of at least 25 years to life in state prison.

If the jury finds he was insane, Dustin would probably be remanded to a state mental hospital, possibly for life.

He remains in County Jail without bail.