A Hamilton County Criminal Court jury this afternoon found a Hixson man guilty of second-degree murder in the 2008 strangling death of his wife.
Kenneth Gann, 25, will face from 15-25 years in prison when he is sentenced May 3.
He had been charged with first-degree murder, which requires “contemplation and judgment” before the act, Tennessee criminal law states. A first-degree murder conviction would have carried a mandatory life sentence.
Mr. Gann had hoped to convince jurors that he simply “snapped” on March 2, 2008, when he strangled estranged wife Robyn Burns Gann in their Hixson home.
During closing arguments this morning the prosecution called Mr. Gann’s 34-minute confession to police a “self-serving statement” during which he tried to blame Mrs. Gann, 25 at the time of her death, for their marriage problems and, ultimately, her own death.