MOORPARK : Heavy Drinking by Defendant Reported

A mutual friend of the defendant and victim in a Moorpark slaying testified Wednesday that James Linkenauger drank steadily the day his wife was killed and spoke often of his jealousy.

Toni Moorman--who accompanied James Linkenauger and some friends on a golfing outing early on Jan. 17 and then drank with them later in the day--told a Ventura County Superior Court jury that Linkenauger had behaved like an obnoxious drunk on the day his wife died.

“There were people moving away from him” at the Moose Lodge in Camarillo because of his loudness, Moorman said. The group had gone to the club after golfing to watch a football game.

Linkenauger, 38, is standing trial for the beating and strangulation death of his wife, 39-year-old JoAnn Linkenauger, whose body was found dumped in a Somis ravine hours after she returned from a weekend in Las Vegas with friends.

JoAnn Linkenauger had lied to her husband about where she was going that weekend because she was afraid of him, according to previous trial testimony.

Another witness, Ina Sperling, who also was at the Moose Lodge with Moorman, Linkenauger and several others, testified Wednesday that she was very concerned about Linkenauger’s behavior.

Sperling said Linkenauger’s anger grew stronger throughout the afternoon.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Matthew J. Hardy said Linkenauger beat and strangled his wife in a drunken rage within hours of her return home that night.

Neighbors testified earlier this week that they saw Linkenauger beat his wife outside the home on the Sunday night she was killed.