Western New York man found guilty of beheading wife

BUFFALO, New York (Reuters) - A jury in western New York deliberated for only an hour on Monday before finding a local television producer, who ran a cable studio designed to promote understanding of Muslim culture, guilty of beheading his wife.

Muzzammil Hassan used two hunting knives to kill Aasiya Hassan on Feb 12, 2009, prosecutors said, six days after she had filed for divorce after nine years of marriage.

Hassan claimed during the trial, which included 13 days of testimony, that he was a battered spouse in fear for his own life.

The jury began deliberating midafternoon on Monday in Erie County, New York Court and returned the guilty verdict an hour later.

Hassan was found guilty of second-degree murder.

(Reporting by Neale Gulley in Buffalo; editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Greg McCune)