FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A Flagler County jury found a man guilty of first-degree murder in the April 2018 shooting death of his wife Brandi Celenza.
Keith John Johansen was found guilty in court Thursday.
According to the State Attorney's Office, it took the jury less than three hours to reach their unanimous decision.
Throughout the trial, authorities said Johansen changed the story of how his wife was shot multiple times.
At first, he reportedly told authorities that when he called 911 the night of the incident, she had shot herself. Later, he said a neighbor did it, then at one point, he suggested that the victim’s own 6-year-old son did it. Finally, as the trial began, he claimed he shot her in self-defense, State Attorney's Office said.
During the investigation, it was discovered that Johansen had installed surveillance cameras inside the house, one of which authorities said he removed two days before the shooting.
The camera removed was also the one that would have been in the exact area where the killing took place, according to investigators. Authorities said Johansen shot his wife one room away from where her 6-year-old was watching TV.
The judge sentenced Johansen to life in prison without parole.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza said "a mother is murdered by her husband and her six-year-old child is left to suffer the consequences. Life in prison gives little consolation for such a callous and brutal murder."
