BOSTON -- Dr. Richard Sharpe, the cross-dressing doctor convicted of murdering his estranged wife Karen in November 2001 was founded hanged in his prison cell at the MCI Norfolk Monday evening, state corrections officials said.

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Sharpe, 54, a wealthy Gloucester, Mass., dermatologist, was found guilty of gunning down his estranged wife at her Wenham, Mass., home after allegedly beating her for years.

He was found hanging in his cell by another prison inmate about 7:30 p.m. Monday and was taken to Norwood Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, corrections officials said. The Norfolk County district attorney said on Tuesday afternoon that the cause of death is undetermined pending toxicology results. He was serving a life sentence for his wife's murder.

Her attorneys said Tuesday in a statement, "This is "a sad ending to a tragic tale of deceit, betrayal and murder."

"Hopefully, Richard Sharpe's death brings some closure to this nightmare for the three Sharpe children," said attorney Mark Smith, a partner in the law firm that represented Karen Sharpe in the divorce.

At the time of her death, Karen Sharpe's divorce attorney, Jacob Atwood, said she had gone to the hospital because of beatings by her husband, and that Richard Sharpe had ordered her to lie about her injuries.

In one incident, Sharpe stabbed his 44-year-old wife in the head with a fork, Atwood said. When Richard Sharpe came home once with duct tape and hoses, the mother of three was so afraid she moved into a motel, the attorney said.

Sharpe was convicted of using a high-powered hunting rifle to kill Karen Sharpe with a single shot to the chest on July 14, 2001 as her brother and his girlfriend watched in horror. Two of the Sharpes' children, ages 4 and 7, also were in the house.

Richard Sharpe, 45 at the time, fled to New Hampshire where he was later arrested hiding out at a motel.

Before the murder trial, his wife's attorney accused Sharpe of being a cross-dresser who took his wife's birth control pills in order to enlarge his breasts and later shot her before his habits could be made public during messy divorce proceedings.

His defense attorney, Joseph Balliro, said at the time that Sharpe only dressed in drag for conventions, to illustrate his hair-removal techniques. The lipstick, eyelashes, necklace and dresses he wore were an effort to attract transsexuals to his business, not to reflect his lifestyle, Balliro said.

During the defense phase of his trial, Sharpe, who had taught at Harvard Medical School, testified that he began cross-dressing when he was young because of his abusive father. He admitted shooting his wife, but claimed insanity as a defense.

Prosecutors said Sharpe was faking insanity and killed his wife because of the millions she stood to gain from the divorce after 27 years of marriage.

Sharpe was moved to the Bridgewater State mental hospital after his arrest for a period of time because of concerns that he was suicidal.

"I think we always thought that Richard Sharpe would either be murdered in prison or that he would probably take his life. He was a terribly troubled individual," Smith said.

Sharpe was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was accused of trying to hire a hit man while behind bars in order to kill the prosecutor who put him behind bars. He was acquitted of those charges in 2007.