A Missouri man was sentenced to life in prison without parole after his pregnant wife’s body was found about a week after she was reported missing.
A jury found Beau Rothwell, 31, of Creve Coeur, guilty of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and abandoning the corpse of his 28-year-old wife, Jennifer Rothwell, who was six weeks pregnant at that time, according to CBS News.
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Jennifer Rothwell had reportedly searched “what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant” on her cellphone before she went missing, police announced.
Rothwell took the time to apologize to his wife’s family during the sentencing hearing and said he thinks about Jennifer Rothwell “every single day.” Once he found out he would be serving life in prison he told the judge he was going to appeal the decision, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Rothwell told the jury he killed his wife in November 2019 after the two got into an intense argument because he cheated on her with another woman. But he denied that it was premeditated and sought conviction on a lesser manslaughter count.
He testified during trial that he hit his wife in the head from behind with a mallet, followed her as she fell toward the garage door and hit her again. “In the heat of the moment, I hit her again. I think I cracked her skull and she fell down the stairs,” he said, KMOV-TV reported. “She was unresponsive, I couldn’t tell if she was deceased.”
Police announced Rothwell dumped her body about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of her home. He reported her missing and also participated in search parties with her relatives and co-workers.
Police later found bottles of bleach in the home and a wet, blood-stained carpet. Investigators said the blood was his wife’s.