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Felon Stabs Wife To Death In Santa Ana Apartment, Prosecutors Say

SANTA ANA (CBSLA) – A convicted felon with a long rap sheet has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of his wife earlier this week.

Mark Lewis Amacher Jr., 38, entered the apartment of 58-year-old Carrie Beckett and stabbed her in the chest several times at around 2:45 a.m. Monday in the 200 block of South Birch Street, the Orange County district attorney's office reports. Beckett had a restraining order against Amacher.

Following the killing, Amacher called an acquaintance, 33-year-old Andrew Buck, who in turn called 911, the DA said. Santa Ana police responded and found Beckett dead at the scene.

Police also found a meth or marijuana extraction lab in the apartment and brought in a hazmat team.

Amacher was arrested at the apartment. Buck was also taken into custody on unrelated burglary charges.

According to Santa Ana police, Amacher pled guilty in September 2015 to beating Beckett. At the time he was sentenced to 60 days in jail. In December 2015, he received another 98 days in jail when his probation was revoked. He was also convicted of felony vandalism in 2016, the DA reports.

Amacher has a criminal history dating back to 1995 with arrests and convictions for receiving stolen property, larceny, grand theft, arson, burglary, petty theft, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, transporting drugs, theft of elderly, passing bad checks, battery on a spouse, corporal injury on a spouse, vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon, according to a recent probation report.

Amacher was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on one count each of felony murder and disobeying a court order, a misdemeanor. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 27 years to life in state prison.

(©2017 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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