Jury: RSM Man Killed Wife with Statue

He killed his wife, dismembered her and hid her remains.

On Monday, a jury found Richard Gustav Forsberg, 63, of Rancho Santa Margarita, guilty of the second-degree murder of wife Marcia Ann Forsberg.

The jury deliberated since Thursday morning, taking three days off before returning to court Monday. It had been an emotionally draining trial, prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh said.

"This was a hard trial to listen to—dismemberment, decapitation, cut torso in two (actually four)," he said.

The jury of 12 agreed that Forsberg killed his wife during an argument, then dismembered her and hid her remains to try to remove the evidence. Here's a timeline of the murder:

• Richard and Marcia got into a verbal argument at home on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010.
• Forsberg grabbed a small statue and hit Marcia on the head several times, killing her.
• He kept her body in their home and decapitated and dismembered the body over the next few days.
• Richard rented an RV and bought two new freezers. He put Marcia's body in the freezers, placed them in the RV and drove to a campground at Lake Piru Recreation Area in Ventura County.
• At the campground, Richard burned his wife's remains.
• When friends asked about her, Richard said they had argued and that she left town to be on her own.
• On Aug. 24, 2010, friends of Marcia reported her missing.
• Richard lied to Orange County Sheriff's investigators. Realizing he would be caught, he wrote a confession that he sent to the OCSD.
• Forsberg was arrested at the hospital after attempting suicide

Forsberg faces 15 years to life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2013.