LOCAL : Accused Wife Killer Denied Bail

A judge today ordered David Schoenecker held without bail on charges that he killed his wife. Schoenecker, 48, wrote a newspaper columnist about the crime, then fled California. It was Schoenecker’s first court appearance in Orange County after his capture by a posse in rugged mountains near Superior, Mont., last week. The defendant did not object to his extradition to face charges in California.

Schoenecker, an engineer, allegedly prepared a list of 54 relatives and acquaintances he planned to “punish,” and many of those named were under police protection until his arrest.

Municipal Court Judge Kazuharu Makino in Fullerton canceled the $500,000 bond that had been set by a Montana judge and ordered Schoenecker held until a May 31 arraignment.