Man Convicted of Fatally Poisoning his Wife Dies at the Age of 81
An orange county man who was convicted of poisoning his wife has died in prison at the age of 81, according to a published LA Times report. The highly publicized California murder trial occurred in the late 80’s and gripped the nation with its headlines.
The decedent’s trial involved the story of a couple who was married 19 years but was anything but perfect. According to evidence presented by the prosecution, the marriage was filled with lies, mistrust, infidelity and eventually murder. The prosecution alleged that the husband was extremely jealous of his beautiful wife, who was a popular school board member in the community. He suspected her of cheating on him and by all accounts was unhappy in his marriage. She refused divorce, however, so he allegedly took matters into his own hands.
The prosecution alleged that he began to poison his wife by slowly exposing her to toxic levels of cyanide and selenium. The exposure caused the woman to suffer from dehydration and lesions on her body that were so painful that she could hardly bear to move around, having to endure the pain of having them rub against her clothing. She died on Jan. 24, 1988, leaving behind her son.
Throughout his incarceration, conviction and until the day he died, the husband maintained his innocence. According to the LA Times report, during a jailhouse interview after he was found guilty, he told The Times that he felt the trial was like watching a "silly play."
"I kept thinking, let's leave this silly play and go home," he said. "It took a long time to realize it was real because the whole thing has been so theatrical."
Violent crimes in California, especially those with special circumstances, like poisoning, can be exceedingly complex. The stakes involved, often life in prison, can make a difficult case for an inexperienced attorney nearly impossible to argue properly. No matter what your specific situation, if you have been accused of a violent crime in California, you need to hire an aggressive and skilled Los Angeles violent crime defense attorney. At the Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf, our criminal defense lawyers have the experience and knowledge required to defend even the most challenging violent crime case. Do not attempt to represent yourself, there is just too much at risk!
