Doctor guilty of wife’s murder

Associated Press

PROVO, Utah

The conviction of a Utah doctor in the murder of his wife was the culmination of a years-long pursuit of justice by the family of the victim.

The daughters and sisters of Michele MacNeill hounded authorities to investigate Martin MacNeill amid an initial finding that the 2007 death was natural, possibly from heart disease. They attended court hearings and sat in the front row of the courtroom at a 2012 preliminary hearing holding photos of Michele MacNeill. They were in Provo again throughout this three-week trial, listening intently. Several of them testified.

When the verdict was read, they let out a loud yelp before dissolving in tears as the jury delivered its verdict to the tense, packed courtroom.

“We’re just so happy he can’t hurt anyone else,” said Alexis Somers, one of his older daughters and his main antagonist. “We miss our mom; we’ll never see her again. But that courtroom was full of so many people who loved her.”

The jury convicted MacNeill of first-degree murder about 12 hours after getting the case, returning the verdict after 1 a.m. He faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 7. He also was found guilty of obstruction of justice, which could add one to 15 years.

MacNeill, 57, showed little emotion when the verdict was read. He hugged his lawyer and said, “It’s OK.” Deputies led him back to Utah County jail.

The Utah doctor was convicted after prosecutors built a case based largely on circumstantial evidence. He was accused of hounding his 50-year-old wife to get a face-lift, pumping her full of drugs and helping her into a bathtub. Prosecutors contend that MacNeill was “swapping” his wife for a new life with a mistress without having to go through a divorce.