A jury has found Kevin Gregson, a former Mountie, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of an Ottawa police officer.

Jurors reached the verdict after more than nine hours of deliberating.

Gregson, 45, and a father of three, will serve 25 years without chance of parole.

Gregson was arrested in December 2009 following the stabbing death of Const. Eric Czapnik, 51, outside Ottawa Hospital.

Hours after the verdict, the widow of the slain officer said that her family can now begin the healing process.

"We will go on, we will be happy again," Anna Korutowska told a news on conference Tuesday night.

"I believe that justice has been served, and I'm happy with the verdict."

Still, Korutowska said that after several hours of deliberations, the guilty came as a massive relief.

"My emotions took over, I started crying," she said.

The couple's young son was also in attendance with his mother.

Earlier, Gregson's defence lawyer Craig Fleming had urged the jury to deliver a guilty verdict for the lesser charge of manslaughter during his closing statement Monday.

During his rambling testimony, Gregson insisted he was just trying to get a gun to kill himself, and his RCMP training took over when Czapnik resisted.

"I killed him but didn't murder him," Gregson said in his defence.

However, the jury heard that Gregson was wearing two bulletproof vests during the robbery attempt, as well as the knife he used to murder Czapnik.

The Crown said Gregson had no intent of killing himself and wanted to create a spectacle to embarrass the RCMP.

The Mounties had suspended him and stopped his salary. He was broke and had to borrow money from his father to pay rent.

Crown prosecutor Brian Holowka called Gregson a "narcissist" and was so taken with himself he took a knife to a gunfight.

After his arrest, Gregson was quoted as saying to a police officer: "I came here looking for a fight. You city cops are tough."

Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau said Tuesday night that the past two weeks of the trial had been very difficult for both police officers and the family of the slain officer.

"Anna, you will always be a part of our family and we will never forget the sacrifice that Eric made," Bordeleau said to the officer's widow, before dedicating a final word to his former comrade.