An appeals court in Wausau has ruled against a Spencer man convicted of killing his wife in 2006.
The three-judge panel found there was more than enough evidence to prove that Patrick Zurkowski intended to kill his wife June and that the murder DID not happen in self-defense.
The appeals court also ruled that the trial judge was right in not letting jurors hear that Zurkowski’s wife had threatened him twice before with a paring knife. They said the jury would have reached the same guilty verdict even with the evidence.
Zurkowski admitted shoving part of an Easter bunny shaped candy dish down his wife’s throat so she would “shut up.” He is serving a life prison sentence without the possibility of early release.
Matt Lehman, WSAU