Lyle Stanford Herring Sr. showed no emotion when the jury returned with a guilty verdict after deliberating for about five hours.
His wife, Lesley Herring, had not been seen since Feb. 7, 2009. Actress Aasha Davis reported the 44-year-old woman missing in March 2009 when she found out her sister had not been at work for several days.
Lyle Herring became a suspect early in LAPD's investigation. He was arrested at Cal State Northridge on April 28, 2010.
The defense tried to argue that Lesley Herring simply disappeared in 2009, saying there was no evidence to suggest that she was dead. But prosecutor Pak Kouch told the jury during closing arguments that Herring murdered his wife and told a relative, "I will burn in hell for what I did."
Kouch said Lesley Herring was thinking of leaving her husband, and Lyle Herring couldn't let that happen. Left behind were the woman's car, purse, wallet, keys, cellular telephone and the bracelets she routinely wore, along with $26,000 in her savings account, Kouch said.
Members of Lesley Herring's family, including the actress, were in court when the verdict was read, and some cried uncontrollably and hugged each other.
Lyle Herring faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on June 7. His wife's body was never found.
City News Service contributed to this report.
