A widower shared his grief with the public after a Quebec City jury handed down a guilty verdict in the brutal murder of his wife, political aide Nancy Michaud.
Proulx, 30, was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday in the killing that shocked the political establishment last year.
Michaud disappeared from her home on the night of May 15, 2008.
Proulx, one of her neighbors, was arrested and charged with her murder a few days after her body was found in an abandoned house .
Michaud's husband, Daniel Casgrain, said he would have preferred an even harsher sentence than life in prison, but added he can live with the verdict.
"He deserves more than that but he got the maximum sentence so we're happy," said Casgrain, who sat through every day of the 27-day trial, including testimony and exhibits that both the Crown and defence called sordid.
Casgrain also said the grief has barely subsided a year after his beloved wife's murder.
"My life was destroyed by the hand of a man -- one man," he said. "I ask myself every day how I'll go on without her."
Proulx's defence rejected
The jury did not buy the defence's argument that Proulx was not criminally responsible because of his mental state and the effects of Effexor, his prescription antidepressant.
Lawyers mum
Proulx's lawyers had no comment.
Crown Prosecutor Annie Landreville would only say that the verdict was consistent with the evidence they presented.
Sharing his grief
At the Quebec City courthouse, Casgrain handed a copy of his statement and a picture of his family to reporters. He said his wife was such a huge part of his life that he will never be able to turn the page.
The widower said that he's still furious and can't even describe the pain he feels but added that the verdict will make it possible to keep living for his sons, aged 2 and 7.
He said that perhaps one day he'll find a way to tell them how their mother died, despite the sordid details.
