A 50-year-old Richmond man has been convicted of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his former mental-health social worker last year.

After a month of testimony, it took the B.C. Supreme Court jury only a few hours on Wednesday night to find Roy Dalen guilty of murdering David Bland.

In January 2005, Bland, 62, was attacked in a Richmond parkade, suffering six stab wounds. As he lay dying, he called 911 on his cellphone and told the operator Dalen was his assailant.

Crown prosecutor Richard Cairns says that phone call, which was replayed in court, was the key to the conviction.

But Dalen's lawyer, David Margolis, questioned that identification of his client in the 911 call because of Dalen's condition.

"He was in a very serious state when he was found. One of the witnesses described him as fading in and out of consciousness. So there was a question as to whether his identification was accurate."

The jury was told that Dalen had got angry at Bland back in 1999 after the social worker reported to police that Dalen wanted to kill a woman who had fired him.

He maintained that grudge against Bland for more than five years, leading to the revenge attack in the parkade.

Dalen has been sentenced to life in prison, with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.