Man found guilty of killing wife

Shortly after a prosecutor displayed a two-by-four wooden plank used to kill a woman nearly three years ago, a Lake County jury found the woman's husband guilty of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors claimed Earl Smith killed his wife during an argument in their North Chicago apartment over her suspected infidelity and abuse of crack cocaine.

After sitting through the nearly weeklong trial, jurors took just over an hour to find 51-year-old Smith guilty of murder and aggravated battery. He faces 20 to 60 years in prison.

Prosecutors contended the defendant became so enraged with his wife early on May 1, 2005, that he punched her, choked her and beat her with the two-by-four to teach her a lesson.

The jury heard a taped interview of Smith during which he confessed to a detective he "didn't mean to kill" his wife.