In a case that has gripped Tucson, former University of Arizona grad student Murad Dervish is set to receive his sentence after being convicted for the murder of hydrology professor Thomas Meixner.

FOX 10 Phoenix reports that Dervish, who was expelled from the university prior to the killing, could be facing a life sentence without parole. The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for fatally shooting Meixner 11 times near his office on October 5, 2022.

The tragedy unfolded months after Dervish was banned and then expelled from the institution, stemming from issues with professors that began to escalate after he received a bad grade, as per FOX 10 Phoenix.

Prosecutors argued that Dervish meticulously planned the murder, purchasing a 9 mm handgun a month before using it to commit the crime. Conversely, Dervish’s defense claimed he was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time, and urged the jury to consider downgrading the charge to second-degree murder, which might have led to confinement in a psychiatric facility instead.