Jury convicts man of 1997 killing of Sparks woman

Tuesday, March 9, 1999 | 9:54 a.m.

The same jury on Monday found John A. Bazile, 21, guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Judith Ann Laine.

Laine, 33, was stabbed in the back with a 12-inch butcher knife at a house in Sparks.

Bazile faces three possible sentencing options: two consecutive life terms without parole, two consecutive prison terms with parole after 40 years, or two consecutive 50-year terms with parole after 40 years.

In convicting Bazile, jurors rejected arguments from his defense lawyer that it was a paraplegic woman, not Bazile, who killed Laine.

That woman, Kimberly Fondy, was killed several months later at the same house, but authorities said the two killings were unrelated.

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