Transcript for Former hockey player found guilty in murder of his wife: Part 6
today in Thomas Clayton’s murder trial. It was a long and in-depth trial. There was more than 75 witnesses, hundreds of pieces of evidence against Thomas Clayton. The question remained, why? Even if there’s all this evidence linking Clayton to beard and potentially to the crime, what was the motive? This was a shock for everyone. Testimony from one of the women who claims to have had an affair with Thomas Clayton. The women, the multiple affairs that he was having right under Kelley’s nose. My nose. I never heard of an affair, ever. Up until that moment we thought that Tom and Kelley had this loving, almost perfect relationship. And here we find out he was cheating on his wife, even telling some of them that Kelley was a — He had mentioned to me that divorce was never going to be a possibility because she would take him to the cleaners, his words. The question was, did he do this crime? Reporter: But prosecutors present no evidence of any cash payments made by Clayton to beard in a murder-for-hire scheme. There’s no direct proof that Tom Clayton engaged in a plot with beard to kill Kelley. There was no record of any payment. There was no record of any agreement to pay. Reporter: The trial spans over seven weeks, and now the former hockey player’s fate is in the hands of the jury. In my mind, it could have gone either way. Reporter: After only six hours of deliberation, a verdict. We broke into programming immediately. Breaking news out of steuben county court. Thomas Clayton, guilty on both first degree and second degree murder charges. There was a tremendous amount of emotion in that courtroom. We obviously were ecstatic with the outcome, because we felt we had accomplished justice. I truly believe that this is one of those rare moments. And I emphasize rare, where the jury got it wrong. We did it! We did it. Reporter: Family members immediately broke out in tears and in cheers, and left the courtroom extremely happy, but still emotional. I told my sister from the night she was murdered that we would not stop fighting for her, we would not stop fighting for justice for her. It’s been a long haul and I’m sorry for his family. I’m sorry for all of us. No one won in this. No one did. This case was a puzzle, and they put together the pieces in a way that was convincing beyond a reasonable doubt. Reporter: At his sentencing, Thomas Clayton is given life without parole. He was very angry. He gave a very long, profanity-laced statement saying that Michael beard was the perpetrator and that he was innocent. First and foremost, I’m extremely proud and honored to call Thomas my son. Reporter: Did the children want to say anything to their father? Charlie actually wrote a letter on her own. That she loved her mom. She loved her dad. But that her dad was a coward because he made Michael beard kill mommy. Reporter: Was Michael beard a victim of Thomas Clayton? I believe that Thomas Clayton was a white privileged man. He used Michael beard. Michael beard would do just about anything for money for his family. Reporter: Along with Kelley’s family, so many lives in this small community, now forever changed. Do you still play poker here? No, we haven’t played poker here since that evening. We don’t play here anymore. Reporter: So not the same anymore, huh? Correct. Reporter: So this table is basically closed? Done. As tragic as this was, to hear such a loved member of the community was murdered, at the end of the day, there was two kids without their mother and their father, taken away from them. Kelley spent a lot of time here. And Kelley would also bring her children here. Reporter: Kim and her mom take me to this treasured bench placed in a local park in Kelley’s memory. I feel comfort when I come here. Cullen calls it “My mommy’s bench.” Yeah. “My mom’s bench.” Reporter: As you raise them, what do you want them to know most about their mother? Her unconditional, unmeasurable love that she had for them. I want them to know that she fought to her last breath to save their life. So powerful, that mother’s sacrifice. Thomas Clayton has just filed an appeal, and Michael beard tells us he’s going to do so as well.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
