Dawson guilty of first-degree murder

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A jury of five men and seven women found Tim Dawson guilty of the premeditated strangulation murder of his wife, Julia, then dumping her body along a southern Montcalm County road in December 2004.

The jury reached a verdict Thursday on their second day of deliberations spanning about six hours.

During deliberations, they asked to see certain pieces of evidence, including a transcript from Marvin Snyder's testimony. Snyder, the convicted killer of Susan Sheldon, testified for the prosecution and claimed Dawson told him he killed Julia.

Minutes after the verdict was read, Julia Dawson's parents expressed their thoughts to 24 Hour News 8. "We knew that when this day came, one way or another, we would finally have some closure, whatever the outcome," said Julia's mom, Tami Keenan. "That at least he would be tried for what he did."

Julia's dad, Kevin Keenan, expressed relief. "Four years is a long time to wait for this."

Jury foreman Mark Perna said it wasn't one piece of evidence that stuck out, but rather everything put together.

"It was very tough," he told 24 Hour News 8. "We wanted to be fair. We feel that we were fair. There was a lot of information to look at. That's why we took our time and we feel good about what we did."

Lead detective Randy Kieft said, "From the beginning, we knew we had the right person." And Assistant Attorney General Bill Rollstin, who prosecuted the case, said "Every piece of evidence stands with the other evidence that forms the chain that gets you beyond a reasonable doubt."

Dawson will be sentenced December 8.