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Fort Worth Man On Trial For Ex-Wife's Murder

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - It was a violent crime that rocked a north Fort Worth neighborhood. Now, more than a year later, the man accused of killing his ex-wife at her office returned to court on Tuesday for the second day of his murder trial.

John St. Angelo's attorneys are arguing that their client had a reason to kill.

It was December 2013 that, authorities said, St. Angelo stabbed his ex-wife to death at her Fort Worth real estate office.

But Suzanne Parsons had already feared for her life before that day. According to documents, St. Angelo had previously threatened to stab Parsons with an ice pick while they were on vacation together in Mexico. Afterward, Parsons filed for a divorce from St. Angelo.

The day after Parsons was killed, police and St. Angelo met in a six-hour standoff in a Fort Worth neighborhood. Police eventually took St. Angelo into custody.

Family members were at the courtroom for the trial on Tuesday, where investigators took the witness stand to describe the standoff. "Many times I was yelling at him to stop shooting," recalled Det. Kevin Keisler with the Fort Worth Police Department. "I wanted him to come out with his hands empty."

St. Angelo's attorneys are arguing that their client murdered Parsons in an act of self-defense. They plan to pursue that argument throughout the trial. It is not yet clear if St. Angelo will testify in the case.

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