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Former Cal Fire Battallion Chief Found Guilty Of Murdering Fiancée

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The jury in the trial of Orville Fleming has found the disgraced Cal Fire battalion chief guilty of second-degree murder.

Fleming was found guilty of stabbing and strangling of his fiancée, 26-year-old Sarah Douglas.

TIMELINE: The Search, Investigation, And Conviction Of Orville Fleming

On the witness stand last week Fleming admitted to stabbing Douglas, but attorneys argue his testimony shows he was in a dissociative state at the time and acting in a fit of anger.

RELATED: Why Did Orville Fleming Admit To Jury He Stabbed Sarah Douglas To Death?

Monday was the first day cameras were allowed inside the courtroom, and they captured Fleming showing little emotion while listening to closing arguments.

Deputy district attorney Noah Phillips insists Fleming had enough time to realize what he was doing to make the killing first-degree murder.

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"Knife scenario, premeditation, strangulation, premeditation; you put those two together and there is strong evidence of premeditated first-degree murder," he said.

Phillips says Fleming had been trained to think quickly and under stress, and that the battalion chief's claims of suffering temporary amnesia are lies.

"From firefighter, to crew chief, to fire captain means you're probably pretty good at making cold calculated decisions," he said.

At one point, gruesome photos of the crime scene were displayed, and Fleming refused to look.

RELATED: Murder Investigation Leads To Probe, Massive Shakeup At Cal Fire Ione Fire Academy

Defense attorney Pete Kemeto told jurors this was a crime of passion, provoked by Douglas, who Fleming says, verbally abused him.

"How would you like to be called a piece of s--- f------ loser? It's in the text. How about a b----?" he said.

He insists a voluntary manslaughter conviction would not let Fleming walk free.

"If you kill somebody in the heat of passion, provoked by them, you still have committed a crime. No one is getting away with anything here," he said.

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