SEATTLE TIMES FILE PHOTO

Merianne Lorentson

A King County Superior Court jury on Thursday found Randall Connor guilty of killing his 24-year-old girlfriend in Kent four years ago. Connor faces up to 29 years in prison when he is sentenced.

Merianne Lorentson lived in fear of Connor, prosecutors said. In the days before her death she made a pact with a close friend -- if a day went by and she didn't call, then the friend should contact police..

After not hearing from Lorentson for more than a day, her friend, Stan Muller, called the manager of her Kent apartment complex on March 9, 2007. The manager found the single mother's body on her living-room floor. According to police, she had been stabbed more than 30 times.

The couple's relationship was apparently winding down just before her death and, according to Lorentson's friends, Connor was not happy about it. Kent police Lt. Bob Holt also said that Connor was angry with Lorentson for dating other men. Lorentson complained to friends that Connor was abusive and allegedly had assaulted her and threatened her at gunpoint, according to court charging papers.

When Lorentson's body was found, Connor was quickly considered the lead suspect, but police said they needed time for DNA and other evidence to be processed. When Connor was charged with her slaying in 2008, he was in prison in California for violating the terms of his parole on an armed-robbery charge.

Lorentson was a full-time personal trainer an aspiring model.

Defense attorney Don Minor, in his opening statement last month, criticized the prosecution for lacking enough evidence to prove that his client is responsible for the slaying.