Kyle Steven Williams was convicted Tuesday in the 2021 murder of Kelly Jo Marie Kocurek, a 36-year-old mother of two, who was found bloodied and bruised in a Hastings hotel.

Following a five-day trial, a Dakota County jury convicted Williams, 35, of Red Wing, of first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse, premeditated first-degree murder, intentional second-degree murder and first-degree assault.

A conviction of premeditated first-degree murder comes with a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. The jury deliberated for less than a day before reaching a verdict, according to a news release from the Dakota County Attorney's Office.

"Today justice was rightly served as Mr. Williams will now be held accountable for his continued acts of domestic abuse that culminated in the violent murder of Kelly," Dakota County Attorney Kathryn Keena said in a statement. "While no outcome can ever fully heal the wounds of this heartbreaking incident, I hope today's verdict brings some peace and comfort to Kelly's family and loved ones."

On May 18, 2021, Kocurek was found unresponsive by Hastings police officers in a room of a local hotel. She had marks around her neck and a number of cords were lying next to her. Her face was bruised. She was hospitalized but died from her injuries five days later.

Williams told police that Kocurek tried to strangle herself and he tried to cut the cords from around her neck, according to the attorney's office. But the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office determined Kocurek was strangled in a homicide and had also suffered traumatic injuries to her head.