Guilty: Windsor jury takes less than four hours to convict Michigan man

Brian Marbury has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Sahra Bulle.

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Brian Marbury, 47, has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife Sahra Bulle, 36.

“I’m clearly disappointed,” defence lawyer Ken Marley told CTV News. “I respect the decision of those 12 people, but I do not understand it.”

Marley noted the judge himself indicated the frailties of the prosecution’s case.

“Yesterday, the judge told the members of the jury that in his opinion, the Crown’s theory of first-degree murder was very thin. Those were his words,” Marley said.

He told the jury in his closing arguments there was no specific evidence about what happened in that room.

The crown even admitted their case was “circumstantial.”

Yet, the jury convicted Marbury of first-degree murder which meant they had to believe Bulle was either forcibly confined or Marbury’s actions were planned and deliberate.

Bulle’s final moments

During the 11-day trial the jury saw surveillance video of Bulle entering a motel room on Huron Church Road, rented by Marbury just hours before.

Guests staying below them reported hearing a loud argument.

Surveillance video shown repeatedly to the jury showed Marbury removing what appears to be a dead body from the room in the early morning hours of May 29, 2023.

Bulle was reported missing by staff at Hiatus House – where she was living at the time – on May 30.

Sahra Bulle’s body was discovered on June 8 in a shallow grave in a woodlot behind the motel.

Family reaction

“My family will never get justice, but we’re grateful that we’re coming to this end of this case,” Fartumo Kusow told CTV News.

She was one of the witnesses during the trial and Kusow detailed the abusive relationship her daughter had with Marbury, practically from the start of their 19-year relationship.

Kusow admitted it strained her own relationship with her daughter at times.

Over the years, Bulle suffered black eyes, bruises on her body, even broken ribs from a fight a year before her death.

“I don’t think there is any closure because we’re not going to get her back,” Kusow said Wednesday. “We just want to move on and keep her memory alive and not have this court sitting in the background.”

Next steps

The Crown Attorneys on the case declined to comment.

Marley said he needs to speak with his client before deciding whether or not to appeal the conviction.

Marbury had previously pleaded guilty to causing an indignity to a human body.

A date for sentencing has yet to be set.