2/22/08 (WI):
Murdered Wife Accuses Husband From Beyond The Grave
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A man accused of murdering his wife has been found guilty by a jury - largely on the strength of her letter she had written prior to her death.
The jury came to its conclusion after over 30 hours of deliberations in deciding the fate of Mark Jensen. In the end they were convinced that he did ideed murder his wife Julie by poisoning her with anti-freeze.
She had been found dead I bed almost ten years ago but had already written a letter to her neighbor expressing fears that her husband was trying to kill her. She had also made similar comments to police and a local teacher at her son's school. The letter to the neighbor was read in court to the jury, and it included the comment "I fear for my early demise".
The prosecution, however, had to look for a motive, and found it when police discovered that Mark Jensen was having an affair and wanted to be rid of his wife. For its part, the defense was based on the theory that she had killed herself and framed him with the letter.
In a case that had all the hallmarks of a TV movie, a forensic expert even tasted antifreeze on the witness stand, describing it as tasting sweet. The prosecution called experts who said they found evidence of suffocation as well as poisoning. The defense experts disagreed.
The defense called their own expert on poisoning to say Julie Jensen could have taken repeated doses of poison herself, but this was clearly not accepted by the jury.
© X-Pro 2008
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