The former Cornell graduate student received the maximum sentence for the 2009 murder of his wife, Caroline Coffeey, who was a postdoctoral student.

A jury found former Cornell graduate student Blazej Kot guilty Tuesday afternoon of the second-degree murder of his wife, Caroline Coffey, who was a post-doctoral student at the vet school.

After more than two weeks of testimony, the jury will soon decide whether Blazej Kot killed his wife in a frenzy of extreme emotional distress or, as the prosecution argues, he acted in cold blood. Each side gave its closing argument Monday, and a verdict is anticipated sometime this week.

Kot's lawyer, Joe Joch '66, cross-examined Dr. Gary Horwitz, the prosecution's psychiatrist, about Horwitz's assertion that Kot was not mentally ill at the time of the crime — an argument which has formed the crux of the defense's case.

The prosecution in Blazej Kot's murder trial cross-examined a psychiatrist on Wednesday, who discussed how a medication Kot used before his wife's death may have exacerbated his mental illness.

The trial of accused murderer Blazej Kot continued Tuesday as the defense revealed the former Cornell graduate student's psychiatric test results. 

Testimony in the trial of Blazej Kot, the 25-year-old former Cornell grad student accused of murdering his wife Caroline Coffey in 2009 continued on Tuesday. Much of the testimony centered on Kot’s iMac, which was used on the night of the murder to perform a Google search for the term “how+to+kill+neck+aretery.”