A B.C. Supreme Court justice has found Manjit Panghali's husband guilty of second-degree murder.

Mukthiar Singh Pangali, a former teacher, was also convicted on one count of interfering with his wife's bodily remains. Manjit Panghali was a teacher in Surrey whose burned body was located in October 2006 near the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.

According to Justice Heather Holmes ruling, the husband strangled his wife, who was four months pregnant at the time.

"Ms. Panghali’s body was found shortly after 9:00 a.m. on Monday, October 23, on the narrow strip of beach alongside the Deltaport causeway about 40 kilometres from the Panghali home," Holmes wrote in her decision. "Her body was very badly burned, and was not identified until several days later. A security guard at the Deltaport terminal had seen a fire on the causeway beach in the general area of the body during one of the preceding several nights; however fires on the causeway beach were not unusual."

The Crown based much of its case on the following information, according to the ruling:

”¢ "Mr. Panghali’s inappropriately matter-of-fact reaction to Ms. Panghali’s disappearance, and, by contrast, his feigned distress and tears under the public or police spotlight";

”¢ "his false statements that he contacted certain of Ms. Panghali’s close friends after her disappearance";

”¢ "his negative statements about Ms. Panghali, and his statements suggesting that others—notably her friend Tony Phunal and her brother Tur—were involved in her disappearance and death";

”¢ "the placing of Ms. Panghali’s car near where Mr. Panghali mistakenly believed her to have taken the yoga class";

”¢ "Mr. Panghali’s acquisition, shortly after Ms. Panghali’s disappearance, of the cellular telephone she had with her before she disappeared";

”¢ "Mr. Panghali’s inordinate delay in reporting Ms. Panghali’s disappearance to the police, which, the Crown submits, was inconsistent with ignorance of her actual circumstances, and;

”¢ "Mr. Panghali’s late-night purchase of a newspaper and lighter on the night of Ms. Panghali’s disappearance when, by all his accounts, he was sleeping at home."

"Many of the facts necessary to support these allegations or contentions are disputed, and require findings which I will make below," Holmes noted. "Also in dispute are the inferences which rationally flow from the proven facts."

Holmes didn't attach a lot of weight to some of these points. However, she stated that the "evidence provides a compelling basis for the conclusion that Mr. Panghali acquired possession of Ms. Panghali’s cellular telephone after her yoga class. Since Ms. Panghali was seen leaving the yoga class, and since abundant evidence indicates that Mr. Panghali did not know where the class was held, the only rational inference from the evidence is that Ms. Panghali returned home to Mr. Panghali, and that he acquired possession of her cellular telephone during or after the events that then followed."

Holmes also wrote that Mr. Panghali's failure to notify others that his wife went missing on the first night "has little value" in probing his guilt or innocence.

"I view differently his conduct the next day when he essentially carried on as normal, except as was necessary to arrange for [daughter] Maya’s care," she added. "I conclude that by then, Ms. Panghali’s absence must for him have rung very loud alarm bells. That Mr. Panghali professed that it did not, and that he acted on that basis, in my assessment supports the Crown’s position that he knew much more about Ms. Panghali’s disappearance than he acknowledged."

Holmes also concluded that that Mr. Panghali was seen buying a newspaper and cigarette lighter in video footage at a Chevron Town Pantry around 1:00 a.m. on the night his wife vanished.

Mr. Panghali never mentioned his trip to the store that night when telling what happened.

Following the verdict, Manjit Panghali's sister Jasmine Bhambra issued a statement calling on women in abusive relationships to speak about this issue with their families.

Bhambra also described Mr. Panghali as a "sick and twisted and evil monster", likening her sister's death to that of Laci Peterson at the hands of her notorious California husband, Scott Peterson in 2002.

Like Manjit Panghali, Laci Peterson was also pregnant when she was murdered by a husband who subsequently lied about his crime to the media.

In a statement issued in 2007, Manjit Panghali's family described her in these ways:

"Vibrant, funny, devoted, inspiring, honest, gentle, that was our Manjit who has been taken away from us so senselessly.

"Manjit was an amazing human being who was always lending her helping hand, her love and her talents to all those who needed it and even those who did not. Manjit was a devoted mother and excellent schoolteacher. She was the best friend anyone could ever ask for. A loving, caring, nurturing woman. A truly beautiful spirit that spread love and joy wherever she went. Block Watch Captain, Triathlete, Always trying to be the best she could be, Always living in the moment. She was a true angel."

Her husband will be sentenced in New Westminster Supreme Court on March 17.