After a three-month trial in Yukon Supreme Court, Norman LaRue has been found guilty of first-degree murder.

The 30-year old from Kamloops, B.C., heard the verdict this morning.

The conviction brings with it a mandatory life sentence without the eligibility for parole for 25 years.

LaRue did not acknowledge Justice Scott Brooker when asked if he had anything to say.

He did not stand when the judge left the courtroom.

Brooker called the murder of 63-year-old Gordon Seybold "brutal and senseless.

"You invaded the sanctity of Mr. Seybold's home and then killed him.”

The verdict was read to a courtroom which included members of the RCMP, Yukon Legal Aid and the public.

Outside the courtroom, LaRue's lawyer, Ray Dieno, said he was shocked by the verdict and plans to appeal as soon as possible.

"I think the judge got in wrong, in terms of, he should have taken first-degree off the table,” he said. "The evidence on first-degree was so scant, that to me it was a clear error.”

Right before his client took the stand in his own defence last month, Dieno argued the judge should remove the option of a first-degree murder conviction.

He said procecutors David McWhinnie and Bonnie Mcdonald had not done enough to prove the planning and deliberation required for first-degree murder.

In the end, Brooker denied the application, ruling it was not up to the judge to weight the evidence.

LaRue is "very upset, very emotional. It was not expected,” his lawyer said.

Dieno said he thought a conviction of second-degree murder was more likely.

What little was left of Seybold's body was found in the charred remains of his Ibex Valley home on March 26, 2008. The fire destroyed most of the evidence and made it impossible for investigators to say for sure exactly how the Yukoner died.

On the day of the fire, a bloody bat and rifles were found at a rest stop about 11 kilometres from the Seybold's property.

Much of the trial centred around an extensive RCMP undercover operation — Project Monsoon — and secretly-recorded conversations between LaRue, his then-girlfriend Christina Asp, and the undercover officers.

The "Mr. Big” style investigation convinced the couple undercover officers were actually powerful criminals with the ability to cover up crimes.

In one of the recordings, LaRue tells the officer he beat Seybold with a baseball bat, slitting his throat ear to ear and lit his home on fire.

On the stand in his own defence, LaRue told the jury he had been lying.

He denied ever being involved in Seybold's death and said he doesn't know who was.

He testified Asp smuggled a secret letter to him while he was in jail which outlined what she had told the criminals and asked him to memorize it.

LaRue insisted he didn't want to be involved with the criminals but went along with it to please Asp and hopefully convince her to leave the life of crime.

He said he was afraid and just telling the undercover officers what he thought they wanted to hear.

Asp was convicted of second-degree murder last year.

She refused to testify during LaRue's trial and was cited for contempt. A court date on that charge has not been set.

Because Asp did not testify, LaRue's lawyer did not get a chance to cross-examine her.

Recordings of her describing to undercover officers how she and LaRue killed Seybold were played in court.

The jury also heard a recording of Asp's testimony during her own trial. When she took the stand that time, she placed all the blame on LaRue and insisted she had exaggerated her role.

Both Asp and LaRue have criminal histories and were on the run from parole when they arrived in the Yukon at the time of Seybold's death.

Asp pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2004 death of her common-law partner, Keith Blanchard, after plunging a 13-inch knife six inches into his chest.

LaRue is a convicted sex offender, but much of his criminal history was kept from the jury.

In 2003, he was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in custody after he used a knife to slash the throat of a woman while he was sexually assaulting her.

The attack was nearly fatal, with wounds coming close to her jugular vein, according to parole documents obtained by the Star.

"She blacked out, and when she came to, discovered that she had been partially disrobed,” say parole documents dated July 17, 2009.

"You were laying on top of her holding a knife. She attempted to fight you off, which angered you, and you slashed her throat.

"In her attempt to defend herself, she received cuts to her fingers and wrists. The victim was also punched in the head while you held a pillow over her face; she suffocated to the point where she might pass out.”

Prosecutors at the time attempted to have him classified as a dangerous offender.

Instead, he was deemed a long-term offender, meaning he was to be monitored by the Correctional Services of Canada for 10 years after his release.

After going on the run from parole at the time of Seybold's death, LaRue was arrested on a Canada-wide warrant and ordered to serve the entirety of his remaining sentence.

In parole documents from November 2008, months after Seybold died, the parole board writes: "The board is satisfied that, if released, you are likely to commit an offence causing the death of, or serious harm to another person before the expiration of your sentence, you are now serving according to law.”

LaRue was 20 years old and incarcerated in 2003 when he and two other inmates allegedly stabbed a fourth man.

"There is information to suggest this incident was gang-related.” the 2008 document says.

In that same document, the board notes that LaRue "made a pledge in the sweatlodge that you will not be violent towards others.

"You feel proud that you have met this goal starting with your withdrawal from your gang affiliation several years ago.”

LaRue's criminal history shows a "propensity to use violence,” the documents say.

LaRue is said to have an anti-social personality disorder, conduct disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

He was released to a Calgary halfway house at the end of July 2009.

There, he would first come face-to-face with the undercover officers who had spent months befriending Asp.

He would not be out in the public for long. Both Asp and LaRue were arrested for murder on Aug. 4, 2009, 16 months after Seybold died.

About 1,300 summonses were sent out to potential jurors for this trial, the most ever in the territory.

The trial had been designated a megatrial because of its likely length.

As a result, 14 people sat on the jury.

The decision was a good one. Before the trial was over, two jury members were excused for medical reasons.

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