GOLDEN, Colo. — A Jefferson County jury found a Morrison man guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend.

Jerald Arthur Cross, 65, was convicted Thursday, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

On Oct. 7, 2018, Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies responded to 5288 Pintail Ct., where Cross lived with his girlfriend, 61-year-old Julene Isaacson.

When deputies arrived, they found Isaacson dead. She had been shot twice in the head, according to the DA’s office.

“She was on the floor, up against the couch, surrounded by an art project for students at the elementary school where she taught,” the DA’s office said in a statement.

According to testimony given during trial, Isaacson told family and friends that Cross had been physical with her and she had a plan to leave the relationship.

“She wanted to wait until the end of the school term so as to lessen the impact on her students,” the DA’s office said.

The jury also heard testimony that Cross said he killed Isaacson because he couldn’t give her up.

Cross was charged with first-degree murder. However, the jury convicted him of second-degree murder.

He faces a mandatory prison sentence of 16 to 48 years.

Sentencing is scheduled for the afternoon of Dec. 20.