TUCSON — After deliberating for five days, a jury pronounced Dr. Bradley Schwartz guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder for the October 2004 slaying of his former partner, Dr. Brian Stidham.

But the panel could not come to a unanimous decision on the first-degree murder allegation against Schwartz, and Judge Nanette Warner declared a mistrial on that charge.

During the two-month trial, prosecutors alleged that Schwartz, a 41-year-old pediatric ophthalmologist, hired Ronald "Bruce" Bigger to kill Stidham after patients began gravitating toward the younger doctor's practice while Schwartz was in a drug rehabilitation clinic.

The jury's decision effectively means that the members agreed unanimously that Schwartz and Bigger conspired to kill Stidham, but there was not enough evidence to convince all of them that Bigger was the killer, and thereby tie Schwartz directly to the murder.

As the verdict was read, Schwartz sat upright and betrayed no emotion. He was later led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

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The victim's mother, Joyce Stidham, and his older sister, Andrea Depwe, both of whom have been in the courthouse nearly every day of the trial, nodded slightly in approval as a court official read the guilty verdict.

Schwartz faces a minimum of 25 years in prison before he is eligible for parole, though he could end up spending the rest of his natural life in prison.

Prosecutors now have the choice of retrying Schwartz on the first-degree murder charge, and they indicated to Judge Warner that they will announce their decision on that at a later date.

Bigger is charged with the same crimes as Schwartz, and his trial is set for later this year.

Six jurors who agreed to answer reporter's questions indicated that deliberations were cordial, though they suspected a deadlock on the first-degree murder charge early on. The final tally on that charge was eight for guilty and four not guilty or undecided, on juror said.

Juror Jason Castro said that the most convincing evidence for him was the testimony of several of Schwartz's former lovers, who described the doctor's obsession with framing, permanently injuring or killing Stidham.

"It was just the numbers of various women that come forward and talked about his plans," Castro said.