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Man accused of breaking criminal law, killing his wife

On Behalf of | Apr 15, 2015 | Criminal Defense

Nearly a full 18 years after a woman’s disappearance, the authorities have arrested an individual whom they believe to be responsible. The woman’s husband is now being charged with breaking criminal law by committing murder. The now 53-year-old Minnesota man denies any involvement in his former wife’s disappearance and/or murder.

Suspicions about the woman began on April 28, 1997 when her supervisor called her husband to ask why she did not show up for work. The husband reportedly told the supervisor that his wife had left him the day before. After a few more days, the woman was reported missing. Investigators obtained a search warrant for the woman’s residence on May 22, 1997, and they supposedly found blood spatter in the cellar that matched her DNA. However, the authorities did not feel as if they had a strong enough case at the time.

Over the years, the authorities have continued to question the husband and the couple’s three sons about the mother’s disappearance. In 2012, one of the sons claimed that his father admitted to the murder, though the father supposedly claimed no one would be able to prove that he did so. Additionally, the sons claimed to have smelled a peculiar smell on a fishing trip that they took with their father, emanating from some coolers in the back of the vehicle. The son to whom the father purportedly confessed now says his experience in working for a funeral home has convinced him that the smell from the coolers was from a human corpse.

It remains unclear precisely why the Minnesota authorities decided to arrest the husband 18 years after the murder. He is accused of violating criminal law, but he retains the presumption of innocence until, and only if, proven guilty. Furthermore, no conviction can be obtained against him without the presentation of evidence that is both relevant and competent and meets the exacting standards of our criminal justice system.

Source: kare11.com, “Man charged with wife’s cold case murder”, Dana Thiede, April 8, 2015

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