Lawyers for Barry George, sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday for the murder of the BBC television presenter Jill Dando, are preparing an appeal against his conviction.
George was convicted of shooting Ms Dando on the doorstep of her London home in April 1999. The trial at the Old Bailey lasted eight weeks.
The murder deprived her fiance, family and friends of a "much-loved and popular personality", the trial judge, Mr Justice Gage, told the 41-year-old unemployed man. He said there was no doubt that the murder was premeditated and George was "unpredictable and dangerous", but it would probably never be known why he killed Ms Dando.
Several pieces of circumstantial evidence and one key piece of forensic evidence - the discovery of a small particle in a coat pocket which was similar to firearms residue found in Ms Dando's hair - led to George's conviction.
George's sister, Ms Michele Diskin, said however that although Ms Dando's murder was a "terrible crime", her brother did not kill the television presenter.
Yesterday, at 4.13 p.m. in a packed courtroom, the jury of six women and five men returned its guilty verdict by a majority of 10 to one after more than 31 hours' deliberation.
Outside the court, Dr Alan Farthing, Ms Dando's fiance, said he hoped the end of the trial would represent "some kind of milestone" in coming to terms with the loss of "this extraordinary person whom we all admired and loved".
As details of George's previous convictions were released, including one for attempted rape, the police defended criticism about the investigation, particularly that it took 11 months to question George even though officers were given his name by a member of the public within days of the killing.
The officer leading the investigation, Det Supt Hamish Campbell, acknowledged the delay but said the investigation team was faced with sifting through "many thousands" of pieces of information, including a list of 2,000 possible suspects.
Speaking at his home in Ballyneety, Co Limerick, shortly before the verdict, George's uncle, Mr Tony Bourke, insisted his nephew was innocent: "I said all along and I still say it, he is innocent. He could not have done it, no way."