SANTA ANA (AP) — A former college official has been convicted of second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his wife.

A district attorney’s statement says an Orange County Superior Court jury convicted Richard Gustav Forsberg on Monday after reporting deadlocks last Thursday and earlier Monday.

After Monday’s deadlock, the prosecutor withdrew a first-degree murder charge and the jury convicted on second-degree murder.

The prosecution said the former Coast Community College District administrator from Rancho Santa Margarita had a long-troubled marriage before he argued with his wife, Marcia, on Feb. 9, 2010. They claimed he clubbed her with a goddess statue when she turned her back.

Prosecutors say Forsberg stored the body in a freezer, then dismembered it and burned it at a campground.

He faces 15 years to life in prison.

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