Las Vegas firefighter gets life in prison for hiring homeless man to kill casino worker wife with a claw hammer

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Las Vegas firefighter gets life in prison for hiring homeless man to kill casino worker wife with a claw hammer
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George Tiaffay, 43, was found guilty of the September 2012 murder of his wife, Shauna
The jury convicted him of hiring a homeless man, Noel Scott Stevens, to do his dirty work
Stevens said he hid in the woman's apartment until she came home from her job at a casino and bludgeoned her with a hammer
Jury could have given him a chance for parole but opted not to

By Kiri Blakeley For Dailymail.com and James Dunn For Mailonline

Published: 20:36 EST, 4 September 2015 | Updated: 20:40 EST, 4 September 2015

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George Tiaffay, 43, was found guilty of first degree murder for plotting the death of his wife, Shauna

A former Las Vegas firefighter was found guilty on Thursday of hiring a homeless ex-convict to murder his estranged wife.

George Tiaffay, 43, promised the convict $5,000 to kill his wife, Shauna, 46, and bought the murder weapon and plotted several ways to dispatch of his wife, the jury found, according to CBS News.

Shauna's admitted killer, Noel Scott Stevens, testified that he hid in Shauna's apartment in September 2012 and killed her with a hammer when she returned home from working a shift as a cocktail waitress at a casino.

Tiaffay, who had an eight year old daughter, Madison, with Shauna, was at work at the time. The two were on a 'break' and no longer living together.

Tiaffay was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. It was the harshest sentence he could have received.

The former firefighter was also a U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate.

The state argued successfully that Tiaffay befriended and hired the homeless handyman who bludgeoned his wife when she ended the marriage.

A Las Vegas jury found George Tiaffay (pictured in court in August) guilty of conspiring to murder his estranged wife and mother of their eight year old daughter

Shauna Tiaffay, 46 (left) had come home from work when Noel Scott Stevens (right) bludgeoned her to death with a claw hammer

Shauna Castleton Tiaffay (above, on her wedding day) was on a break from her husband, George, but had recently told him she wanted to end the marriage. 'She surrounded herself with many friends who loved and adored her,' said her obituary

George Tiaffay (pictured) and Shauna had been married for six years when she was brutally murdered - they had a daughter, Madison

'Once we live separate, I don't think there's any going back,' Shauna had texted her estranged husband, according to Las Vegas Review Journal.

Immediately afterwards, Tiaffay made 11 phone calls to Stevens.

Tiaffay gave Stevens a key to the apartment where Shauna lived.

Stevens said he hid in a closet until Shauna returned home from her shift at the Palms Resort Casino and then hit her over the head 17 times in an attack so brutal the hammer broke.

The court was shown video of the two men buying dark clothes, a hammer, a knife and gloves together at a Walmart in the weeks before the murder.

Other evidence included Tiaffay phoning Stevens 87 times in the month before the slaying. Stevens also made $600 by having a friend pawn Shauna's engagement ring, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said.

There was bloody jeans with DNA matching Shauna and Stevens were found near one of Stevens's tents in a homeless camp outside of Las Vegas.

Tiaffay, pictured here in court in August, was given the maximum sentence, life without parole

As the police closed in to question Tiaffay about Shauna's death, he was involved in a car crash, ramming his car into a concrete retaining wall at more than 80mph. Police suspect it was a suicide attempt.

While Tiaffay's lawyer asked for parole, and argued that Stevens was a liar who couldn't be trusted, the prosecutor contended that Tiaffay deserved no parole as he had '30 days of premeditation and deliberation, 30 days for the hero to stop Noel Stevens.'

The jury agreed and gave Tiaffay the max.

Stevens pleaded guilty to all seven charges against him, including murder and conspiracy, and struck a plea deal with the state to avoid the death penalty, reports The Salt Lake Tribune.