A 31-year-old man from Missouri has been convicted of killing his pregnant wife by hitting her in the head with a mallet.
Beau Rothwell was found guilty of tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse. He admitted to murdering his wife Jennifer Rothwell, 28, but denied the killing was premeditated.
According to reports, he bludgeoned the victim to death with a mallet during an argument over his affair with another woman.
It was on November 12, 2019, when Rothwell reported his wife missing. Officers then discovered her car parked on a side of an intersection.
The body was discovered 45 miles northwest of their home.
Police said that she was six weeks pregnant when she was killed.
Days before her death, Jennifer had looked up “what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant” on her phone.
During the trial, prosecutors revealed that Rothwell made a pros and cons list about his affair before murdering his wife, according to St. Louis Dispatch.
Reports said that he listed ‘more respect,’ ‘fresh start’ and ‘better s*x life’ as pros and wrote ‘trust is shaken/tainted,’ ‘take on her kid with his probs,’ ‘half my assets/money,’ and ‘my family disappointment’ as cons.
His lawyers argued that the pregnancy hadn’t been a surprise and he was delighted about it. But the heated argument about his affair ignited violence that resulted in Jennifer’s murder.
In Facebook messages shared by prosecutors, Rothwell told his lover that ‘part of him wanted Jennifer’s pregnancy not to work out.’
Another message read: “If there is a miscarriage or something I’ll leave her after that and be with you.”
Authorities said that he referred to his wife’s body was ‘it’ when telling the location to police.
Rothwell faces life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
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