Larissa Schuster was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in a Fresno County Courtroom Friday. Schuster is the 47-year-old Clovis bio-chemist who was found guilty last December of killing her estranged husband Timothy Schuster in 2003 and dumping his body in a barrel of acid.

Schuster’s sentencing was delayed several times since the verdict.

In January, Schuster's attorney Roger Nuttall asked the judge to delay her sentencing for two months to give them time to ask for a new trial and interview jurors about possible misconduct.

Judge Wayne Ellison told attorneys he found no reason to contact jurors and for that reason would only delay sentencing for three weeks while a motion for a new trial was filed.

In March, the California Fifth District Court of Appeals postponed the March 12 sentencing of Schuster after Nutall asked for information on the jurors and for internet information from local media to see if the jurors had read stories about the trial while it was still going on.

Then on May 5, Nuttall filed a petition asking for a new trial. Official court papers claimed the judge in the case did not give proper instructions to the jurors, and also claimed not enough evidence was presented to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she killed her husband.

It took jurors three days to find Schuster guilty of murder in the first degree, with special circumstances

The jury had the option of finding her not guilty, guilty of first or second degree murder, or guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

Schuster faced a possible sentence of 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The prosecution was not seeking the death penalty in the case.

During the trial Schuster admitted to helping hide her husband's body after she claims a former employee, James Fagone, killed him.

During his trial, James Fagone admitted to helping with the murder, but said it was Schuster who actually planned and carried out the crime. Fagone was convicted on robbery and murder charges and is currently serving a life sentence. His case is on appeal