DUBUQUE, Iowa — A prosecutor says an Iowa man accused of using a corn rake to kill his wife was irate over her affair and fearful he’d lose their farm if she divorced him.
Testimony resumed Wednesday after opening statements for the trial of 43-year-old Todd Mullis. He’s charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of 39-year-old Amy Mullis on Nov. 10 at the farm about 40 miles (64 kilometres) west of Dubuque.
He claimed she accidentally fell on a corn rake, but prosecutors say medical evidence showed she’d been stabbed in the back with it. The Telegraph Herald reports Mullis’ attorneys don’t dispute that Amy Mullis was killed but say there is reasonable doubt about who killed her.
Prosecutor Maureen Hughes said Tuesday that Todd Mullis “had to find a way to keep that farm.”
Defence attorney Gerald Feuerhelm agreed the farm was important to Todd Mullis, “but not so important that he would murder the mother of his children.”
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Information from: Telegraph Herald, http://www.thonline.com
The Associated Press
