Wayne Bell found guilty of stabbing Marilyn Mitton and setting her apartment on fire

Wayne Bell sat quietly in his wheelchair, shoulders slouched and head bowed, as he was found guilty in the stabbing death of his estranged girlfriend Marilyn Mitton.

A 12-member jury found Bell guilty of first-degree murder and arson late Friday night after more than seven hours of deliberation.

Bell, 70, barely flinched as the guilty verdict was read before a Hamilton courtroom, which featured Mitton's emotional son, Christopher.

Bell's defence counsel stood at his sides with their arms rested on his back for support.

Christopher audibly sighed in relief, alongside his wife and best friend.

I just want to thank the jury," Christopher said outside court, adding he is beyond ecstatic" with a verdict that now offers him long-awaited closure. It's still mind-boggling ... I waited four years for this day."

Mitton, 66, was found face down in a bleach- and water-filled bathtub with seven stab wounds on July 31, 2016. Firefighters found her limp corpse while they doused a fire in her 200 Jackson St. W. apartment that was deliberately set ablaze.

Her DNA was detected on several articles of clothing belonging to Bell.

Bell, who pleaded not guilty to both counts, was the only witness his defence counsel called during the seven-week trial.

He testified over two days that Mitton killed herself on July 28 and, a year before her death, asked him to put her in a bathtub with water if she committed suicide so cockroaches wouldn't get to her flesh.

Court heard the onus was on the Crown to prove Bell inflicted the stab wounds on Mitton and set her apartment on fire to cover up the murder.

Defence counsel Stephen White asked the jury in his closing address to take the evidence presented at trial at face value.

There was blood DNA of the victim on Bell's shorts and gloves - but he admitted to being there as she died," White said. He didn't waver, he didn't wiggle on the essential facts."

Bell, who has lengthy criminal record spanning 43 years, testified he lay next to a bloody Mitton for about a half-hour before she died.

He said he never went to get help because Mitton allegedly asked him not to leave her alone - just as his father did 55 years earlier when he died from a blood clot in a 10-year-old Bell's lap.

Crown attorney Nancy Flynn urged the jury to find Bell guilty of first-degree and arson, arguing Bell's testimony lacked credibility and Mitton's death was planned.

Bell testified he saw Mitton stab herself on three separate occasions. Court heard evidence from a pathologist who said Mitton sustained seven stab wounds.

Bell also testified that, a few hours after Mitton died around midnight July 29, he exited the back door of 200 Jackson and went across the street to buy four hits of ecstasy and one gram of marijuana. Surveillance footage of the building did not capture Bell leaving either front or back doors between 10:16 a.m. on July 27 and 10:52 a.m. on July 29.

The Crown argued Bell had three motives to murder Mitton: revenge, greed and jealousy as a scorned lover.

He was vengeful, court heard, because he thought Mitton tried to kill him with a laced drink after he attempted suicide in April 2016. Bell left a note in Mitton's mailbox upon his release from hospital which read: Next time you kill someone, make sure they're dead."

He was greedy, court heard, because he was in desperate need of money at the time Mitton died. Evidence presented at trial revealed Bell only had $3.09 in his bank account on July 8, as well as arrears of rent of over $1,300 and an eviction hearing set for Aug. 9. A day after Mitton allegedly killed herself, Bell cashed a forged cheque in her name worth $5,000.

He was jealous, court heard, because Mitton told him while he was in hospital that she was having an affair. Bell told police in an interview - one which he testified to have no recollection of due to the four hits of ecstasy - the news destroyed" his heart.

I'm 66-years-old," he said. This is the last chance I can find someone to love."

Bell is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15.

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com