Memphis man James Hawkins convicted after daughter testifies he made her help dismember mom's body

(CBS/WREG/AP) MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A jury has convicted 33-year-old James Hawkins of murder after his three children gave vivid testimony about how he stabbed and strangled their mother then dismembered her body.

It took less than two hours for the jury to return the verdict Friday against Hawkins in the killing of 28-year-old Charlene Gaither.

The chief witness against Hawkins was his 15-year-old daughter, who was just 12 years old when her mother was killed. She testified about the repeated sexual abuse she sustained from her father. She told jurors that her father even got her pregnant but she had a miscarriage. Hawkins threatened to kill her if she told anyone about their relationship, reports CBS affiliate WREG.

The girl said she saw her father stab and strangle her mother on Feb. 9, 2008. She said Hawkins used a knife to force her to help him put the body in a freezer and later cut it up. She said she had to hold the head as Hawkins severed it.

Hawkins' two sons testified as well saying their father took them to buy a saw the day of the murder and that they helped him remove a mattress from the couples bedroom.

Hawkins didn't testify. He pleaded guilty to dismembering the body but told police his daughter killed Gaither and he was only helping to cover it up.

Outside the courtroom, relatives of Gaither wept loudly and hugged each other after they heard the verdict. A prosecutor said the jury clearly believed the children's testimony.

"They were completely truthful and forthright," prosecutor Jennifer Nichols said outside the courtroom.

The jury next will decide if he should be sentenced to death.