Prosecutors say a California man allegedly killed his wife and propped her up on Christmas morning for their kids to open gifts in front of her body, the Orange County Register, Mercury News and the Associated Press report.
William Wallace of Anaheim, California, was charged in the 2011 killing of his wife, Za’Zell Preston, 26, which allegedly occurred during a violent argument on Christmas Eve that year.
According to the Orange County Register, during his trial on Monday, prosecutors claimed that, on Christmas morning, Wallace placed Preston’s body on the sofa with sunglasses on and proceeded to have their kids open gifts. Prosecutors also alleged that Wallace told their children, “Mommy … got drunk and ruined Christmas,” the Mercury News reports.
At the time, Wallace’s two daughters were 8 and 3 years old. The couple also shared a 7-week-old newborn. Preston was studying to become a domestic violence counselor at the time.
As for what happened on Christmas Eve, Wallace’s attorney claimed his client was “being accused of something that is not his fault” and that Preston got drunk and fell on a glass table, hitting her head, the Mercury News reports.
*story by People