KENOSHA, Wis. — Mark Jensen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday after a jury again found him guilty of killing his wife, Julie Jensen, at their Pleasant Prairie home in 1998.
Back in February, a Kenosha County jury spent more than six hours deliberating before returning a verdict. It was Jensen's second conviction of 1st-degree intentional homicide for Julie's death. In 2008, a jury convicted him after 30 hours of deliberations and he was sentenced to life without parole.
Jensen was handed the same sentence Friday morning.
Jensen's previous sentence was vacated after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled evidence in the first trial violated his rights. The court decided a letter Jensen's wife wrote that incriminated him in the event she was murdered, could not be used by the prosecution in the trial.
In both trials, the state, led by Prosecutor Robert Jambois, claimed that Jensen used antifreeze to slowly poison Julie. The defense argued that Julie Jensen was depressed and took her own life.
Mark Jensen's defense team declined to comment after his conviction.
Jury finds Mark Jensen guilty in Kenosha antifreeze death
By Bruce Harrison, Jackson Danbeck, Feb. 11. 2023
A jury has again found Mark Jensen guilty of killing his wife, Julie Jensen, at their Pleasant Prairie home in 1998.
The Kenosha County jury spent more than six hours deliberating before returning a verdict on Wednesday afternoon.
This is Jensen's second conviction of 1st-degree intentional homicide for Julie Jensen's death. In 2008, a jury convicted him after 30 hours of deliberations and he was sentenced to life without parole.
However, in 2021, his sentence was vacated after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled evidence in the first trial violated his rights.
The court decided a letter Jensen's wife wrote that incriminated him in the event she was murdered, could not be used by the prosecution in the trial.
In both trials, the state, led by Prosecutor Robert Jambois, claimed that Jensen used antifreeze to slowly poison Julie. The defense argued that Julie Jensen was depressed and took her own life.
A judge will sentence Jensen in April. The state said it will once again seek life without parole.
Mark Jensen's defense team declined to comment on Wednesday after his conviction.
Watch Mark Jensen's verdict read in court:
Watch Julia Jensen's final letter read to the public after trial:
A copy of Julia Jensen's final letter, shared by prosecutor after trial:
On Tuesday, the state and defense wrapped their closing statements.
"Somebody committed a ghastly crime here," said Deputy District Attorney Carli McNeill. "This year is the 25th year stolen from Julie Jensen."
"... Mark Jensen who had tormented and punished and never forgiven his wife for years, found her replacement and then killed her," said McNeill.
Defense attorney Jeremy Perri said, "Mark Jensen did not kill his wife. We know this from the science, we know this from what Julie Jensen told her physician."
"Please think about the questions we’ve asked of the witnesses in this case. Please think about what my answer would be to the state's argument. This case is tragic on so many levels. There’s depression. There’s suicide. And there’s an innocent man on trial for homicide," Perri said.
"Mark Jensen is innocent, and we ask you to return a verdict of not guilty," according to Perri.
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