PITTSBURGH -- A Bosnian immigrant was found guilty of first-degree murder for pinning his estranged wife against a wall with his car in a South Hills suburb.

Allegheny County Judge David Cashman convicted 50-year-old Esad Lemo on Friday. He faces life in prison.

Authorities say Lemo spotted Jasminka Lemo in August 2006 as she was walking near her Whitehall home in the Prospect Park apartment complex, then chased her and pinned her against a building near Parkline and Maple drives.

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• Slideshow: Pictures From The Scene

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The Lemos were resettled in Whitehall by Catholic Charities in 1997. Police say the couple had a history of domestic problems and Jasminka Lemo had filed for divorce.

The defense sought a third-degree murder conviction, claiming Lemo's depression over his impending divorce and the loss of his job rendered him incapable of thinking clearly.

According to an affidavit, Esad Lemo told police that he hit his wife on purpose because he was depressed about getting divorced and losing his job.

"It's just a senseless act that never should have occurred," said.

The former couple lived in separate apartments in the complex where the crash happened. Whitehall Police Chief Don Dolfi said there had been a history of domestic disturbances between them, although officers had not been called to the home for some time.

The wife filed for a protection from abuse order a few years before her husband killed her.