Man Convicted In Wife's Strangulation Death
PONTIAC (WWJ/AP) - An Oakland County man has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the strangulation death of his wife in their Southfield home as their children watched.
A Circuit Court jury in Pontiac reached its verdict Friday in 39-year-old Rahim Lockridge's trial.
Investigators say, last September, he put his wife, 32-year-old Kenyatta Lockridge, in a headlock and strangled her -- all in front of their three daughters. Defense attorney's argued that Rahim acted in self-defense because the two were fighting and that the wife had attacked him.
The daughters, ages 17, 11 and 8, previously testified in a preliminary examination that their parents were fighting over missing money. The 17-year-old said their mother hit their father, who then put his arm around their mother's neck. The girl testified her mother then stopped breathing.
The judge in the case earlier tossed-out a first degree murder charge.
Sentencing is set for May 24.
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