Elderly Murder Victim Once Accused Of Killing Pregnant Woman
SANTA ANA (CBS/AP) — Police say a 74-year-old man has been arrested following the stabbing death of his ex-wife whom authorities say was once herself charged with second-degree murder.
Police said Kenneth Finefield is suspected of killing his former wife, Macaria Finefield, at their Santa Ana home.
According to authorities, a 911 call was placed by a man from inside the home on South Orange Street around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Neighbors told CBS2's Carter Evans that the couple used to be married and were separated for a time. They told Evans that the woman had recently returned home.
"She came back to be with him. I guess to help him out. He was a lonely guy and I guess she came back. She has a good heart," said a neighbor named Brian.
According to the Orange County Register, the deceased was arrested in 2004 on second-degree murder charges in connection with the 1974 death of a pregnant woman.
The newspaper says Macaria testified at her trial that she unintentionally killed Bertha Hernandez when she took a knife to her belly as she attempted to deliver her baby. Authorities said after fatally stabbing Hernandez, she disposed of the body in Mexico.
Charges against her were dropped after Mexican authorities provided proof that she spent three years in a prison for the death.
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