Three men accused in the 2009 shooting death of Nadia Gehl in Kitchener have been found guilty of first degree murder by a jury in Hamilton.

Gehl's husband Ron Cyr, Nashat Qahwash and Zdenek ‘Dennis' Zvolensky had each pleaded not guilty in the case.

Crown attorney Fraser Kelly says "At the end of the day…this was really a bittersweet verdict because the poor family sustained a loss they never should have sustained at all."

Gehl was shot and killed on Feb. 2, 2009 while walking from her home in Kitchener to a nearby bus stop on her way to work at a toy store.

The verdict was reached around noon and delivered shortly before 2 p.m. on Monday

The jury had resumed deliberations at the Hamilton courthouse around 10 a.m. after starting the process on Saturday afternoon.

Jurors had been instructed by the judge they could consider several verdicts for Qahwash and Zvolensky including guilty of murder, guilty of manslaughter or not guilty, but could only consider guilty of murder or not guilty for Cyr.

The judge also instructed jurors that they must come to separate verdicts for each of the accused.

During the trial Crown prosecutors alleged Cyr planned the murder of his wife and enlisted the other two accused to carry it out.

The Crown cited Cyr's secret mistress and a life insurance policy belonging to his wife, which he apparently promised to share with the others, as motive for the killing.

But each defendant has repeatedly denied involvement and pointed the finger at the other two accused.

Cyr's lawyer had claimed his client was being blackmailed by Zvolensky and Qahwash so he would invest in a business venture.

The trial, which began in January, saw over 50 witnesses as well as video and audio recordings of the men captured by an undercover officer.

On those recordings Cyr is heard telling the officer he planned the murder of his wife.

Meanwhile Qahwash and Zvolensky each accused the other of pulling the trigger.

A first degree murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

A number of mistrial applications were filed during the trial and then denied by the judge as well as applications for separate trials.

Now appeals are expected.

Delmar Doucette, the attorney for Zvolensky, says "I've already got instructions from my client that an appeal is to be filed and that will be happening."

When asked if they had anything to say, Qawash was the only one to respond, saying "I told the truth. The system failed me."

Family reacts to verdict

With the conclusion of the 15 week trial, the Gehl family says justice was done, but it won't bring their loved one back.

Father Nick Gehl says "The thing that bothers me about all of this the most is thinking about what happened that day, my daughter coming out of her house being carefree just like she always was and turning around and seeing some bastard, who she knew, shooting her. And the last thing she saw was that, and then dying in a snow bank by herself."

He says he still doesn't understand why Cyr simply didn't file for divorce instead of committing murder.

Her uncle Steve Gehl says "It's tragic. It's not just us I guess. You know the community sort of lost a really good resource and a wonderful person."