Newfoundland man found guilty of killing his estranged wife in 2016

ST. JOHN’S — A jury in western Newfoundland has found Dean Penney guilty of first-degree murder in the disappearance of his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney.

Hillier-Penney disappeared on Nov. 30, 2016, in St. Anthony, N.L., a community of about 2,200 people on Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula.

Her remains still have not been found.

RCMP Insp. Adam Palmer said the lengthy investigation that led the force to charge Penney in late 2023 took roughly 100 officers and staff of all ranks.

Speaking to reporters Sunday in St. John’s, N.L., Palmer also credited Hillier-Penney’s family for their tireless demands for justice.

Palmer said he hoped Sunday’s verdict would bring them some peace and help them move forward.

The trial took place in provincial Supreme Court in Corner Brook, N.L.

The report from a public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia concluded that gender-based, intimate partner and family violence is an “epidemic” in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2026.

The Canadian Press