Families of Angila and Richie Wilder react to guilty verdict

“We the jury duly empaneled and sworn, in the above-entitled action, do find the defendant Richie Edwin Wilder, Jr., guilty of the crime of murder,” the court clerk said.

It took the jury of six men and six women less than an hour to convict Richie Wilder of murdering his ex-wife Angila in her northwest Minot home last November.

In her closing argument, Deputy State's Attorney Kelly Dillon reiterated a week's worth of evidence, from surveillance images, to the blood stain in the car, and Richie's DNA found in Angila's finger clippings.

“He left that house, Angila Wilder's House on Nov. 13 with Angila's blood on his hands. He still has Angila's blood on his hands,” Dillon said.

Wilder's attorney Kerry Rosenquist denied the credibility of testimony from Thursday, where a former jail inmate claimed that Wilder admitted to him to killing Angila.

“After a year of being in lockup, waiting for a trial of this magnitude, are you going to tell anybody that you stabbed the hell out of the person whose murder trial that you're standing for? No!” Rosenquist said.

But the jury sided with Dillon, who brought to light a tense email back-and-forth between Richie and Angila leading up to her death.

“Even the day before she's murdered, she sent him an article about being a narcissistic father,” Dillon said.

Angila's mother Linda said God would judge Richie for his actions, and she showed remorse for both families.

“I lost my daughter last year, and now they're gonna lose their son, and it just breaks my heart that any of this happened. I have three grandchildren that have lost their mother and their father,” she said.

Richie's current wife Cynthia remained resolute in her husband's innocence.

“He's a good man. He's a good husband. He would never do anything that would hurt his kids. I stand by him,” Cynthia Wilder said.

She said she will continue to focus on raising their children.

“I am what the kids have now. They've been with me for the past year, and they will continue to be with me,” she said.

Judge Gary Lee ordered a psychological evaluation for Wilder, who will be sentenced March 16, and faces a possible life sentence.

A side note on the verdict—because of the institution of Marsy's Law beginning next year, the state will have to accommodate for any other victims of the crime to allow them to participate in Wilder's sentencing in March.

Angila Wilder would have turned 31 this past September.

ORIGINAL STORY 12/16 12:08: A jury has convicted 30-year-old Richie Wilder, Jr., in the murder of his ex-wife Angila Wilder last November.

The jury of six men and six women took less than an hour to convict Wilder in her death.

In her closing argument Friday morning, Deputy State's Attorney Kelly Dillon went through much of the evidence that was presented in the trial, from the surveillance images, to the blood stain in the car, and Richie's DNA found in Angila's finger clippings.

"He left that house, Angila Wilder's House on November 15th with Angila's blood on his hands. He still has Angila's blood on his hands. Richie Wilder is responsible for Angila's murder," said Dillon.

Wilder's attorney Kerry Rosenquist told the jurors the case presented enough reasonable doubt to rule Wilder not guilty in her murder.

Wilder now faces the chance of life in prison without parole.

Judge Gary Lee ordered a presentence investigation.