A 12-person jury has found Christopher Gale guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Jocelyn Bishop.

The verdict came shortly before 2 p.m. on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the eight-woman, four-man jury began deliberations.

It also comes with a mandatory life sentence. Gale will spend from 10 to 25 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole.

Gale continued to look forward and shook his head slightly but showed no real emotion when the verdict was read.

The 32-year-old had pleaded not guilty in connection with Jocelyn’s death in 2010.

Her body was found buried in a shallow grave behind the home the couple shared on Fanshawe Park Road in July 2010.

Gale’s defence had claimed Jocelyn was depressed and shot herself, while the Crown alleged Gale shot her after an argument.

This was Gale’s second trial, after the first ended in a mistrial because the judge found a jury member “did not uphold their oath.”

Victim’s family emotional after verdict

Jocelyn’s father Don Bishop is expressing relief now that his daughter’s killer has been convicted.

“Thank God it’s all over. It’s been a real long, hard road for all of us to go through this.”

Jocelyn’s mother Ginette Bishop let out a huge sigh of relief when she heard the verdict and outside the courthouse shouted “Justice for Jocelyn!”

She says “This will help us go on with our lives easier…It’s still very hard, I mean we lost our baby to that creep and hopefully he rots in jail.”

After being taken into custody by police Gale glared at the Bishop family, and Don says “He said ‘F--- you,’ is what he said to me and, you know, what can I do. And he also turned and said ‘I know where you live.’”

Gale’s family did not want to speak to the media, but his lawyer John Getliffe says “I think he had a fair trial as far as I know and other than that I have no real comment on the evidence. The jury has spoken and that’s the way it works here.”

A date for sentencing will be set on August 13th. The hearing will decide how long Gale must spend in jail before he is eligible for parole.

Jocelyn’s family will present victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing.