A jury has found a 21-year-old Elizabeth man guilty of fatally stabbing his future mother-in-law after an argument about a kitchen mess. 

Christopher Leary was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 56-year-old June Anderson in October 2018, according to a news release from the 18th Judicial District Court.

“This is a young man who made the decision to stab to death another human being, and he calmly carried out this action,” said District Attorney John Kellner in the release. “He forever took his victim from her family, and nothing can change that. The community is safer with him behind bars, where he belongs.”

According to the news release, Leary was living with his fiancée and their son at Anderson’s home on Oct. 31, 2018, when an argument began over a mess in the kitchen. 

Leary left the home on a walk to cool off and later returned. Anderson then made a comment about her daughter, which prompted him to attack her. He then broke down Anderson’s bedroom door and beat her, the release said. 

After beating her, Leary left her lying on the ground,  grabbed a knife and stabbed her through the throat, according to the release. 

Later in the night, Leary told investigators that he knew he had already gone too far and “if I am going to go to jail or prison, I might as well do it for something that is worth it.”

Leary is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 13. The mandatory sentence for a Class 1 felony is life in prison without possibility of parole.