After entering a guilty plea in court on Tuesday, a woman accused of knifing her husband 140 times was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Joan Burke, 62, agreed to have her charges reduced from first-degree murder to second-degree murder with a weapon because of her age, according to WPBF.
According to the arrest affidavit, when Palm Springs Police came at the couple’s residence in February, they discovered Marvin Weller lying in a pool of blood that coated more than 50 percent of the kitchen floor, with “multiple stab wounds and lacerations on his body.”
Weller had already been stabbed 140 times throughout his body, according to an autopsy, and “he also had a skull fracture caused by a blow from a meat cleaver to the right rear of his head.”
In the bedroom, they found Weller’s 61-year-old wife, Joan Burke, who had cuts on her hands but she was completely silent.
Cuts are common among stab wound perpetrators, according to police, because the blades of the weapons become slick, allowing the cutting device to slide away and dig into the skin.
In court, Weller’s family testified about the pain Burke caused them.
According to court documents, Weller filed for divorce from his long-time wife Joan Burke in late December.
Weller’s divorce was being handled by attorney Nicole Hamil-Scott. She mentioned one potential point of contention: allegedly millions of dollars in real estate that would have to be divvied up under Florida law. She asserts she had just met with Burke’s lawyer a week before the murder to discuss some of the terms.
Burke’s defense lawyer asked for a furlough so that she could spend a week with her relatives for closure before serving time in prison, but the state opposed, claiming she was a flight risk and dangerous to herself.
The motion was denied by the judge.
