Cross-dressing dermatologist convicted of murdering wife

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) -- Dr. Richard Sharpe claimed he killed his wife in a haze of drugs and alcohol, gripped by an uncontrollable rage that culminated years of madness, depression and sexual confusion.

But a jury ruled Tuesday that the millionaire, cross-dressing dermatologist knew exactly what he was doing when he burst into the home of his estranged wife, Karen, and gunned her down in July 2000.

Sharpe, 47, was convicted of first-degree murder and will automatically be sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sharp stood impassively, his long black hair hanging over his shoulders, and jerked his head slightly as the verdict was read.

His wife's relatives gasped and wept. Her sister, Kathleen Lembo, called the victim "a loving mother, the best sister anybody could have."

The case drew attention because of its lurid details. Photographs of Sharpe wearing slinky dresses and fishnet stockings were widely published after his arrest, and his wife had said in affidavits that her husband stole her birth control pills in an effort to enlarge his breasts.