FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A trial has begun for a California man accused of killing his wife after she filed for divorce.
The Fresno Bee reports (http://bit.ly/2bvich7 ) that the attorney for 53-year-old Todd Pate told the Kings County jury Monday that Pate did kill his wife, but should be on trial for a lesser charge.
Attorney Melina Benninghoff says Pate should be charged with voluntary manslaughter, not murder, because he "lost it" and was "completely out of his mind" at the time of the killing.
Pate called the Hanford Police Department in September 2013 and told them he killed his wife, 42-year-old Melanie Pate.
Prosecutor Nicholas Schuller says police found the woman's body in the backyard pool with her throat slit. Schuller says Pate purposefully stayed home from work to kill his wife.
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Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com
