Karen Rodrigue was convicted of second-degree murder last night when a Yukon Supreme Court jury returned after more than a day of deliberations.

Shortly before 9 p.m., the jury told the court it had found Rodrigue guilty of murder in the stabbing death of Gerald Dawson on June 17, 2004.

The courtroom was filled with people despite the late hour.

As the verdict was read out, many people sitting in the long wooden benches cheered and clapped, before breaking into tears.

Some members of the jury were also crying.

Rodrigue was sentenced to life in prison, which means a term of between 10 and 25 years.

The jury recommended the minimum sentence of 10 years before parole eligibility.

The Crown was also seeking a sentence of 10 years for Rodrigue, Crown prosecutor David McWhinnie told the court.

Presiding Justice Leigh Gower then sentenced the 36-year-old to life imprisonment for at least 10 years without parole.

She was also ordered to provide a DNA sample for forensic analysis and was given a life-time prohibition on possessing firearms.

Moments before Gower read Rodrigue her sentence, Shirley Dawson, the daughter of the deceased, read her victim impact statement aloud.

She described the death of her father, and the subsequent legal process, as a long and painful experience for her family that no one should have to go through.

'The pain has been unbearable because I miss him so much,' she said, her voice filled with emotion.

'The only thing my father is guilty of is having a big heart,' she said. 'Sadly, it is what has led to his death.'

She explained the impact the murder has had on her family.

Depression, stress, fear, loneliness and loss are some of the emotions that she, her partner, her two children and her younger sister have been struggling with for more than a year now, court heard.

Her younger sister, who is a special needs person, looked to Gerald as a best friend and confidant, Shirley said. The 24-year-old woman has become a different person since she lost her father.

Shirley said she never worried about her sister before because Gerald had always taken care of her.

Since his death, though, her sister's grief has caused her to turn to alcohol, get in trouble with the law and display behaviours that cause her harm, Shirley said.

'She is very lonely and misses our dad and has no place to go anymore,' she told the court.

Shirley's eight-year-old son wakes up with nightmares, she said, crying out for his grandfather. It is hard to see a young child so full of sadness, she added.

While justice may have been served in the courtroom, Shirley said, she and her family must continue to live with the loss.

'I hope you (Rodrigue) spend the rest of your life thinking about what you've done to the Dawson family,' she said.

'(My) only peace of mind is that you, Ms. Rodrigue, will have to answer to a higher power.'

Tuesday night marked the end of the trial, which had lasted almost two weeks.

Two distinct theories about what transpired in the early hours of June 17, 2004, in Dawson's small green home in the Marwell area, were presented by the Crown and the defence.

Defence lawyer Nils Clarke said in his closing arguments that Rodrigue stabbed Dawson twice in the back after he sexually assaulted her.

She was 'overwhelmed, shamed, angry , afraid,' he said, after she had been raped by a friend who subsequently told her no one would believe her.

The Crown argued that Rodrigue killed Dawson in an argument over money.

Rodrigue was on the cusp of a downward spiral into a 'drug run,' said McWhinnie, which resulted in a 10-day binge of cocaine and alcohol after Dawson was killed.

'She was in the throes of an addiction at the time she met up with Gerald and at the time she killed Gerald,' he said.

Paraphrasing forensic psychiatrist Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe's testimony, McWhinnie said Rodrigue was in a state where she would 'do almost anything to get drugs.'

Before dismissing the jury, Gower told the seven women and five men that their deliberations are to be kept secret.

An optional debriefing session for jurors is being held with a chartered psychologist, Gower said.

The session was organized to help jurors deal with the effects of what they saw and heard during the trial.