Miralle Not Guilty in Slaying of Wife : * Courts: Jurors say the evidence of tire tracks at the murder scene was not sufficient for a conviction.

A La Canada Flintridge man was found not guilty Wednesday of murdering his wife and dumping her body in the desert near here.

A San Bernardino County Superior Court jury deliberated just 6 1/2 hours before returning a verdict clearing Donald Miralle, 47, a Pasadena civil engineer.

Miralle, who was sitting with his 20-year-old daughter, Anita, sat up in his chair and smiled when the verdict was read.

“I’m obviously very relieved, but not delighted,” Miralle said. “I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach repeatedly for a year, and I certainly wish this whole thing had never happened.”

Prosecutors had charged that Miralle murdered Tessie Miralle, his wife of 21 years, on Sept. 12, 1990, to avoid a costly divorce settlement, then drove to the desert, where they said he doused her body with gasoline and set it afire. A painter driving to work the next day found the still-burning corpse.

Jurors said their deliberations focused on tire tracks found at the scene, which the prosecution attempted to link to Donald Miralle’s Chevrolet Suburban.

A former tread designer for Firestone Tire & Rubber testified that he believed the patterns matched Miralle’s car. But during cross-examination, he said the tire tread found in the desert showed no signs of a repair patch that had been put on Miralle’s tire.

Jurors compared pictures of the tire tracks at the scene with the tracks of Miralle’s Suburban, and “they just didn’t match,” said juror Joann Trinceri, 41, of Hesperia.

“We couldn’t place the Miralle vehicle at the scene,” added James D. Stambaugh, 69, of Hesperia.

Jury foreman Edward Teigen, 38, of Lucerne Valley, also cited the conflicting tire tracks. “I believe we reached the only verdict the evidence and the jury instructions allowed us to reach,” he said. But Teigen added that “I personally do not feel good about my decision.”

The case included allegations that Tessie Miralle may have been killed because of soured business deals or because she was part of a Philippine crime syndicate.

San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Frederick A. Mandabach refused to allow testimony about a mysterious “Madame X,” which the defense claimed would have shown that Tessie Miralle was involved in black market dealings in the Philippines.

The defense may also have been bolstered by testimony from two of the Miralles’ children, who said their father was a mild-mannered man who never lost his temper or threatened their mother.

In addition, Anita Miralle testified that her mother loaned money to friends at high interest rates. Defense attorneys alleged that Tessie Miralle ran the equivalent of a loan-sharking operating that might have provided another motive for someone to kill her.

Miralle was arrested Oct. 3, 1990, but he was released on $500,000 bail a month later. He has since lived at his Descanso Drive home with his three children. On Wednesday, he said he would return to work promptly to pay off legal bills, which he said will run about $200,000.