The Edmonton man found guilty of murdering his pregnant wife has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.

Michael White looked down at his hands on Friday as Justice Mary Moreau read out the sentence in the Court of Queen's Bench.

Michael White must serve 17 years before becoming eligible for parole.
(CBC)

She said the murder was brutal and callous.

"The court must express in unmistakable terms society's abhorrence for this, the most reprehensible and extreme form of domestic violence," Moreau said.

Liana White's body was found naked in a ditch in July 2005, five days after she was reported missing. She was four months pregnant with her second child.

A jury found her husband guilty of second-degree murder last week and recommended he serve at least 15 years before becoming eligible for parole.

After the sentence was read Friday, Liana White's friends told CBC News they were disappointed to see how soon Michael White will be eligible for parole.

The maximum parole eligibility for second-degree murder is 25 years, while the minimum is 10.

"I think 17 seems kind of short for the offence that occurred," Kelli Moreau, a friend, said. 

"And for the life sentence, you'd just think it would be a little bit more than that."

Body left without dignity, judge says

The judge said some factors worked in Michael White's favour during the sentencing. She said the mechanic was a contributing member of society who has the support of family members.

Still, Moreau said the fact that the victim was pregnant when she was stabbed to death weighed heavily in her decision.

The judge said she also considered that Michael White left his wife's body without dignity, stripped naked in a ditch, exposed to the ravages of insects and scavenging animals.

The judge said because of Michael White, a young girl has been denied a mother.

Michael and Liana White had one child, Ashley. The four-year-old girl is now in the custody of her grandmother, Maureen Kelly.

Kelly, the victim's mother, said the girl may have witnessed at least part of her mother's murder. She was only three at the time.

When White was first reported missing, her husband made a tearful plea to the media for her safe return. He organized the search team that found her body in Edmonton's northern outskirts.

He was charged the next day.

White's lawyer has 30 days to launch an appeal. She says she has not yet decided if she will.

White was put on suicide watch last weekend after sustaining cuts to his throat and wrists, which he said were caused by other inmates, but which investigators suggested were self-inflicted.

With files from the Canadian Press