Marquette man sentenced in death of his wife

AURORA, Neb. (KSNB) - A Marquette man is going to prison for the rest of his life for the beating death of his wife.

Judge Christina Marroquin sentenced 49-year-old Jeffrey Adams to life without parole on Thursday.

After a week-long trial in June, a Hamilton County jury came back with a unanimous decision, finding Adams guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Angela Adams.

This stems from an incident in February 2023.

The Hamilton County Sheriff found Angela Adams’ body in a pool of blood in her bedroom with cuts around her eyes and nose. Court records indicate that Jeffrey Adams told investigators that he had punched Angela after the two had an argument the night before.

Originally, Adams was charged with second-degree murder but prosecutors amended that charge to first-degree murder, arguing her death was premeditated.

Adams had tried to get his case moved out of Hamilton County but the court denied that motion.

The case ended up with a judge out of Saunders County after Judge Rachel Daugherty removed herself from the case in September.

District Judge Christina Marroquin of Wahoo presided over the case.

The trial started on June 10 in Hamilton County.

The jury listened for seven days of evidence and testimony, including hearing from Jeffrey Adams‘s son, who witnessed portions of the altercation the night of Angela’s death.

Jeffrey Adams also took the stand, telling the court that he didn‘t remember strangling Angela the night she died but said based on the evidence displayed in court that it’s possible.

His ex-wife also testified about a strangling incident, which he said in court that he didn’t remember.

The defense argued for manslaughter saying Jeffrey ‘lost his cool’ while the prosecution leaned in on the testimony of those close to the couple along with her autopsy. The prosecution called this case the face of domestic violence.

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