Ex-Teacher Admits Murdering Estranged Wife

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) - A former school teacher has pleaded guilty to murdering his estranged wife minutes after she left a police station to report their child custody dispute.

Aaron Raigoza reached a plea deal Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court that will allow him to avoid the death penalty. The 36-year-old Raigoza faces 50 years to life for first-degree murder and a consecutive 19-year term for assault with a deadly weapon.

Raigoza, who had been tracking his wife Ana Acosta with a GPS device, shot her five times on Feb. 4, 2008, after she left the Monterey Park Police Department.

Raigoza never returned to his job as a teacher in Huntington Park and was arrested at a motel in San Bernardino County more than three weeks later.

The couple had two children and were getting divorced.

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