Pierre found guilty of second degree murder

CTV Windsor: Guilty verdict Pierre found guilty of second degree murder. Ricardo Veneza reports.

A Windsor man has been found guilty of second degree murder in the death of his girlfriend.

John Pierre, 49, sat silent in the courtroom as the verdict was read just before 8 p.m. Friday.

A jury, made up of four women and eight men, reached the verdict after deliberating for nearly eight hours.

Pierre admitted to the court that he killed his girlfriend, 42-year-old Lesley Watterworth, inside her home on Nov. 1, 2016. She suffered 69 sharp force injuries to her body, including a fatal stab wound to her back that was 15 centimetres deep.

In her charge to the jury, Justice Renee Pomerance also said they could consider Pierre guilty of manslaughter.

Pierre admitted during the trial that the couple partied all night the two days and nights before the murder -- drinking alcohol and using drugs like crystal meth, cocaine and marijuana. A fight started when they started arguing over infidelity on Watterworths' part.

The crown described Watterworth’s death as a crime of passion because Pierre flew into a jealous rage, and after the murder, Pierre visited friends and went out for dinner and was eventually arrested at the casino where he admitted to the crime to multiple people.

The defence argued Pierre wasn't in the right state of mind to knowingly commit murder, and suffers from depression and social disorders, coupled with drugs and alcohol.

Pierre testified he “exploded like a pop can” and he never intended to kill Watterworth.

Pierre now faces a life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 to 25 years.

A pre-sentence hearing will be held Oct. 5 before Justice Pomerance makes a ruling on a sentence.