Beau Rothwell has been convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Jennifer. Photo / Facebook
Beau Rothwell has been convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Jennifer. Photo / Facebook
A jury has convicted a US man of murdering his pregnant wife after cheating on her and writing a list of reasons he should leave her.
Along with a first-degree murder charge, Beau Rothwell was found guilty last week of tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse, accordingto the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
During the trial, the 31-year-old admitted to killing his wife, Jennifer Rothwell, but denied the killing was premeditated, seeking a conviction on the lesser charge of manslaughter.
He told the court he had clubbed his 28-year-old wife to death with a mallet in their home in November 11, 2019, during a heated argument after his affair.
Her badly beaten body was found a week later, more than 72km away from their home, after she was reported missing on November 12.
Police had previously said the 32-year-old murderer was caught on camera buying cleaning products, including bleach and gloves, a day before his wife vanished.
Police later found bottles of bleach in the home and a wet, bloodstained carpet.
Investigators determined the blood was his wife's.
He was arrested just hours after posting a plea for help on social media.
"Some of you may have heard already, but last night my wife Jennifer went missing," he wrote on Facebook. "I've filed a police report and the search is ongoing. Please, if you hear of anything or have any information it would be greatly appreciated."
