A 56-year-old St. Joseph man will be sentenced in November for the beating death of his wife on April 30 of last year. Six women and six men on a Buchanan County jury returned a guilty verdict Wednesday evening against Martin Davis.

Davis was convicted on one class-A felony count of domestic assault in the first degree causing serious physical injury, for the May 1, 2015 fatal beating of his wife Sandra Davis.

He could be sentenced to anywhere from ten to thirty years or life behind bars. Circuit Judge Daniel Kellogg scheduled motions and sentencing for November 10.

During closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristina Susan Zeit called Mr Davis an “evil man.”

“He’s the reason she can’t come in here and tell you what happened.”

Ms Zeit recounted a littany of past abuses, including the withholding of medication, taking away her phone numbers, and multiple beatings. The prosecutor pulled up a hospital photograph showing Sandra’s multiple severe facial injuries and scoffed at the notion that she did it to herself, as the defendant asserted.

Zeit reminded the jury of the myriad of medical opinions introduced into evidence, including a patholgist who listed the manner of death as homicide from blunt force trauma. A number of experts including paramedics and emergency-room personnel specifically called the injuries the result of an assault, Zeit said.

“She could not tell people what happened,” Zeit said, “because she would have to go home with him, and she would get beaten again.”

“She was not crazy. She was tired. Tired of being beaten over and over.”

The trial began on Monday. The jury was given the case shortly after 4pm Wednesday, and deliberated for less than three hours before returning the guilty verdict.