A Small-Town Murder Solved

BACKGROUND: Last March, View reported on the sniper slaying of Diane Newton King, a Battle Creek, Mich., television anchorwoman whose death rocked the nearby town where she lived. Newton King, 34, was shot through the heart Feb. 9, 1991, as she returned home from visiting her parents. Nearly a year later, her husband, Bradford King, was arrested for the crime, drawing international attention to Marshall, where quiet streets are lined with lovingly restored Victorian homes.

UPDATE: On Monday a jury convicted former police officer King of shooting to death his wife in the driveway of their home.

The Battle Creek jury deliberated about 15 hours over three days before finding King, 45, guilty of first-degree murder and possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Prosecutors said King and his wife were having marital problems, and he was angry because she wanted to quit her job anchoring the morning news at WUHQ-TV in Battle Creek to stay home with their two children.

King, who maintained his innocence, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole when he is sentenced Jan. 6.

Two hours before the verdict, jurors gave the judge a note saying they were at an impasse after deliberating since Thursday. The judge urged them to continue talking.

“Final justice has not been served. Brad will have to answer to God,” said Alan Marler, the victim’s brother, after the verdict.