Battle Ground dentist found guilty of murdering his wife

- VANCOUVER, Wash. - Jurors have convicted a dentist from Battle Ground, in southwest Washington, of stabbing his wife to death with a pair of scissors.

Sixty-year-old James Classen had claimed he was mentally incapable of understanding his crime. He said he suffers from bipolar disorder.

The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder just before noon today.

Clark County prosecutor Tony Golik portrayed the stabbing of 56-year-old Eveann Classen as a "cold-blooded, premeditated murder."

Golik said Classen was angry over a reported affair. He said Classen took a pair of sewing scissors and stabbed his wife more than 100 times in February of last year.

A videotape of Classen's confession to police was played for the jury.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)