Student Who Killed Wife Gets 12 Years
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A former medical student who strangled his wife in a laboratory was sentenced Friday to 12 years in state prison.
Charlie Richardson, 31, of San Diego received the sentence for the Dec. 20, 1988, death of his wife, Maria Richardson, 30, who was found dead at the El Cajon Group Laboratory, where she worked as a medical technologist.
Richardson pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Feb. 26, in the middle of his murder trial.
He said he used a telephone cord to strangle his wife after the two quarreled over Christmas plans. The couple had been married seven years.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Judith Haller also fined Richardson $10,000 and ordered that the amount go to his son, Andrew, 2.
The boy is now living with his maternal grandparents in the Los Angeles area.
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