An Ottawa man has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years for killing his wife in front of their two small children.

Demetrios Angelis was sentenced Thursday for the 2008 second-degree murder of his wife, Lien Li Angelis, 42. She was killed in the couple's McEwan Avenue apartment while their three- and eight-year-old children sat on a couch nearby.

After killing his wife, Angelis rolled her body in a carpet and dragged her into a bedroom. He took their kids to Church and then called 911 three hours later.

Justice Robert Smith told Angelis his actions traumatized his children, who will be scarred by their mother's murder for the rest of their lives.

Smith said Angelis robbed them of both their parents – they no longer have a mother and their father will be locked up behind bars for a long time.

Although the jury recommended 10 years in prison before Angelis would be eligible for parole, the judge upped that recommendation to 12 years.