Philadelphia Man Accused Of Murdering Wife In Pennypack Park Set To Plead Guilty
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Northeast Philadelphia man accused of killing his wife in Pennypack Park last summer is set to enter a guilty plea.
For months the Philadelphia District Attorney's office had an offer on the table to 48-year-old Christopher Murray to spare putting his teenaged daughters through the ordeal of a trial.
Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore says there have been five continuances in court, as Murray mulled it over and kept delaying a decision.
"In exchange to his plea to third degree murder, the defendant will receive a sentence of 20-40-years, which is the maximum he could receive under the statute," Pescatore says. "If it went to trial, the Commonwealth would be seeking a first degree murder conviction, which would carry a life sentence."
His wife, 46-year-old Constance Murray, went out for an evening jog last August, and her body was later found at the edge of Pennypack Park. Four days later, Murray confessed.
They quarreled after she discovered text messages between him and another woman. He told detectives that he "just snapped," and strangled her.
Murray is scheduled to formally enter the guilty plea before a judge on May 26th.
