SAN DIEGO -- A former Santee man was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder for killing his estranged wife and dumping her body in an unknown location.
A jury deliberated more than four days before returning a guilty verdict against James Dailey (pictured, right).
The body of Guadalupe "Lupe" Dailey (pictured, below) who was last seen the night of Aug. 31, 1997, has never been found.
Dailey, 35, faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 9.
"The defendant told everyone he was going to kill her and no one was ever going to find her body ..." Deputy District Attorney Dan Goldstein said after the verdict was read. "This is a tragedy. A mother, a sister was murdered."
"I'm hoping the verdict can give the family a bit of peace ... the defendant ripped the family apart for no reason other than his own jealous interests," Goldstein added.
Defense attorney Michael Begovich told 10News that he wasn't surprised with the verdict and plans to appeal.
Guadalupe's brother-in-law, Johnny Keene (pictured, right), spoke to reporters after the verdict was read.
"When the verdict came down I started crying. My family cried. We are happy," Keene said.
"I got a chance to see the other side of James Dailey and when I saw that other side, I knew he had done it," he said.
Goldstein told jurors in his closing argument that the defendant remarked to 10 to 15 people over the course of the two months before his wife disappeared that he was going to kill her.
Dailey told a sheriff's investigator in 1997 that he last saw his estranged wife about 6 p.m. the night she disappeared. He said that she left his residence after they argued about money.
Dailey told authorities he drove to Mission Bay and put his boat in the water so he could "cool off." But investigators checked and found the boat inoperable, Goldstein told the jury.
Begovich argued that the absence of a body, a confession, DNA evidence and any direct evidence meant his client was innocent.
The attorney said the statements Dailey made to co-workers at Viejas Casino about wanting to kill his wife amounted to just "venting."
Begovich said that Dailey spoke about his wife in anger because of money issues, and the fact that he didn't like her being with other men in front of their two children.
The attorney said that there was no evidence that Dailey acted on any of his verbal threats.
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