07/11/2008

Associated Press

A Wendell man has been convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his wife after a jury sided with prosecutors in believing the crime was premeditated.

The Wake County jury still has to decide if Jakiem Wilson will spend life in prison or be sentenced to death.

Wilson's lawyers said he killed Nneka Wilson in February but argued that he acted in a sudden fit of rage and did not plan the killing.

Claudette Hill, Nneka's mother, told The News & Observer of Raleigh on Thursday that she was grateful for the verdict.

"I'm just relieved," Hill said.

The couple's two young children were home at the time but were unharmed. Nneka Wilson's mother and stepfather have since adopted Matthias, 4, and Naja, 2.

Wilson was stabbed in the heart, lung and neck after she stepped out of the shower in the couple's home near Wendell, about 17 miles west of Raleigh.

Roderick Ryan Howell of Knightdale and Jamie Russell Holder of Garner, who belonged to a four-man gang with Jakiem Wilson, testified that he told them he planned to kill his wife. The men were charged with helping Wilson cover up the crime. Wilson said his wife nagged him and would want child support if the two split up, the friends said.

Howell and Holder are both being held on $2 million bond at the Wake County Jail on charges of being accessories.