LAWRENCE, Mass. — Dr. Richard Sharpe claimed he killed his wife in a haze of drugs and alcohol, gripped by an uncontrollable rage that culminated years of madness, depression and sexual confusion.
But a jury ruled Tuesday that the millionaire, cross-dressing dermatologist knew exactly what he was doing when he burst into the home of his estranged wife, Karen, and gunned her down in July 2000.
Sharpe, 47, was convicted of first-degree murder and will automatically be sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Sharp stood impassively, his long hair hanging over his shoulders, and jerked his head slightly as the verdict was read.
His wife's relatives gasped and wept.
Sharpe taught at Harvard Medical School and ran a hair removal business and a business that developed medical software and lasers. He used the stock market to parlay his earnings into millions.
Prosecutors argued Sharpe was a calculating killer who shot his 44-year-old wife because he was afraid of losing the $3 million he had put in her name.
Defense witnesses, including Sharpe's siblings, testified that he endured years of childhood abuse by his father. Sharpe told jurors he first began dressing in women's clothing as a teen-ager as an escape from his painful home life.
Sharpe testified that he didn't remember much about the night his wife was shot in front of her brother and other witnesses as the couple's two young children slept inside the house.
"I love Mikey and Ally. I love Karen," Sharpe said as he was led from court.