CRAIG, Colo.—The defense has rested in the trial of a 72-year-old man charged with killing his 34-year-old wife, dismembering her body and dumping the pieces in a northwest Colorado gold mine.
Terry Hankins is charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the June 2007 death of Cynthia Hankins.
Defense attorneys wrapped up their case in Moffat County District Court Monday, arguing Hankins killed his wife in self-defense. They presented witnesses who testified that Cynthia Hankins had been violent.
Prosecutors earlier played recordings of three statements by Hankins describing how he choked his wife into unconsciousness, beat her to death with a crowbar and dismembered her body in a bathtub.
Investigators say Hankins led them to his wife’s remains.
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Information from: Craig Daily Press,
