Decision Day Arrives In Butler Death Penalty Case

A Butler County man convicted overnight of killing his pregnant wife in 2004 faced sentencing Friday.

Jonathan Tusa, of Butler County, was convicted of killing his wife after she tried to leave him.

He shot his 21-year-old wife, Dawn, three times as she drove away from their Penn Township home.

Dawn's car ended up on a hillside. A passing driver found her hours later.

Dawn died before paramedics arrived at the scene.

In a verdict reached after 11 p.m. Thursday, the jury found Johnathan guilty on two counts of first-degree murder.

Defense attorney Dick Goldinger said, "I think the jury decided he was guilty of murder in the first degree. I think it’s a possibility, I mean, it was obviously there. It was a charge; it was a deserved charge. I'm not saying it was a deserved verdict."

Prosecutors said they would ask for the death penalty.

Johnathan was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.