NEW YORK - It took nearly a decade for a murder case over a prostitute's death in a shabby Times Square hotel to go to trial. But it took only about two hours for jurors to convict the accused man.

Jurors in Clarence Dean's case began deliberating late Tuesday afternoon. The Manhattan district attorney's office says the jury delivered a guilty verdict Tuesday evening.

The convicted sex offender admitted choking Kristine Yitref but denied killing her. He said he blacked out while defending himself from her and her pimp in August 2007.

The long lead-up to the case partly reflected a dispute over whether jurors could hear a comparison between Dean's teeth and a bite mark on Yitref's body. Prosecutors ultimately decided not to introduce it.

Dean often declined to attend the trial.