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Dean Penney has been sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney.
Penney was sentenced Friday in Supreme Court in Corner Brook. The conviction carries a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
A jury found Penney guilty in May, nearly a decade after Hillier-Penney disappeared from St. Anthony on November 30, 2016. Her remains have never been found.
The case against Penney included evidence gathered through a lengthy undercover RCMP “Mr. Big” operation. Penney maintained his innocence throughout the case and again told the court Friday that he hopes to eventually be vindicated.
Members of Hillier-Penney’s family delivered victim impact statements during Friday’s sentencing hearing.
