Elementary Teacher Found Guilty Of Fatally Stabbing Estranged Wife

A West Hills man was convicted today of fatally stabbing his estranged wife as she fled from a friend’s house, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury deliberated about 2 1/2 hours before finding Michael Rodney Kane, 48, guilty of the first-degree murder of Michelle Kane, 43. He also was found guilty of making criminal threats and a misdemeanor charge of disobeying a protective order. In addition, the jury found true the special circumstance of lying in wait. Deputy District Attorneys Frederick Mesropi and Brenda Lee of the Van Nuys Branch prosecuted the case. The LAUSD elementary school teacher went to a home in the 7100 block of Deveron Ridge Road around 8 a.m. on June 15, 2013, and confronted his wife. He chased her outside and stabbed her multiple times before fleeing the scene. He was arrested two days later in San Bernardino County. Prosecutors were not seeking the death penalty against Kane. He is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole when he returns to court on April 20 for sentencing in case LA074423 in Department R in Van Nuys. The Los Angeles Police Department investigated the case.