Dr. Stephen Scher maintained for 21 years that he was not a killer, that he hadn't murdered his friend so he could marry the man's wife.
A jury finally disagreed Wednesday, convicting the North Carolina allergist of first-degree murder."I understand the workings of the court and the jury's verdict," Scher said before the judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole. "I would like to say the testimony I gave was truthful. I did not kill the father of my children. This was an accident. I maintain my innocence."
As he was led from the courthouse in handcuffs, his wife and her two children watched from a second-story window.
Scher, 56, had asserted for years that lawyer Martin Dillon tripped and shot himself while chasing a porcupine during a 1976 skeet shooting outing. The death initially was ruled an accident, but the case was reopened at the insistence of Dillon's father.
During the four-week trial, Scher changed his story, testifying that the gun went off in a struggle that started when Scher told the 30-year-old Dillon he was sleeping with his wife.
Scher said he lied about the shooting for more than two decades to protect Dillon's widow, Patricia, and the children, whom Scher raised.
He also said he made up the porcupine story because he didn't feel, as a relative newcomer and the only Jew in town, that anyone would believe that he accidentally shot Dillon.
Defense attorney John Moses said he would appeal.
He questioned the speed with which the jury arrived at its verdict after a sick juror was replaced. The panel, which had already deliberated for about 7 hours, reached a verdict less than half an hour after an alternate joined the group.