Illinois man convicted of killing wife with baseball bat

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - Jurors have convicted a northern Illinois man of killing his wife with a baseball bat in 2012 and dumping her body in the Rock River.

Todd Smith was found guilty of murder Wednesday in a Rockford courtroom. He is to be sentenced March 22, when he faces a term of life in prison. Katrina Smith's mother, Vikki Nalevac tells the Rockford Register Star (http://bit.ly/2k5dSee ) that her relatives "finally have justice. We can breathe now."

Prosecutors said Katrina Smith wanted out of her marriage to Todd Smith, but he wouldn't let her go and even tracked her with a device under her car.

Smith's public defender said the case was filled with sloppy police work and described Todd Smith as a loving husband trying to preserve his relationship with his wife.

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Information from: Rockford Register Star, http://www.rrstar.com