ANCHORAGE, Alaska — James Wease was convicted of second-degree murder Tuesday afternoon in the 2007 stabbing death of his wife, as a jury delivered its verdict in a high-profile Anchorage murder case.
Jurors found Wease, 68, not guilty of first-degree murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence, but found him guilty on two other evidence-tampering counts.
Dana Sena-Wease, 43, was reported missing in November 2007. Her body was found two weeks later in Turnagain Pass, near Ingram Creek.
James Wease was initially charged with the five offenses in October 2009 -- but those charges were dropped in 2010 when a judge found misconduct by an assistant district attorney during the grand jury indictment. Wease was re-indicted on the same charges just a week later.
Prosecutors said Wease stabbed his wife to death after a fight, and then tried to cover it up by disposing of her body, painting the walls of their apartment and replacing the carpet -- the case's three evidence-tampering counts. Wease was found not guilty for painting the walls, but guilty for disposing of his wife's body and replacing the carpet.
