RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) - The trial has begun for a Richmond woman charged in the 2011 slaying and dismemberment of her ex-boyfriend’s wife.
Media reports say attorneys gave vastly different accounts of what happened during opening statements Monday in Madison Circuit Court.
Prosecutors said Christina Marcum is a “masterful manipulator” and conspired with Jason Singleton to kill his wife, Angela Frazier Singleton.
Prosecutors say Marcum stalked the couple and eventually convinced Jason Singleton to leave his wife.
“The evidence in this case will show you that she is the difference between an abrupt divorce and a murder,” prosecutors said during opening statements.
Defense attorneys said Singleton acted alone to kill his wife. They said Marcum witnessed the slaying, but didn’t help and didn’t go to police because she feared she might be targeted.
“You will hear no witnesses that Christina Marcum committed this crime,” the defense said. “You will have no physical evidence that she committed the crime. The motive that they just have you, you will see by the time I’m done, and for sure by the time the proof is done, is ridiculous.”
Singleton pleaded guilty to complicity to murder in May and is serving a 30-year sentence.
Investigators found Frazier-Singleton’s body in trash bags Jan. 19, 2011, about a week after she was last seen alive.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.