FILLMORE : Elderly Man Denies Murdering Wife
A 90-year-old Fillmore man on Monday denied strangling his wife of more than 60 years when he pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in Ventura County Superior Court.
Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. said he would consider reducing Alfred Pohlmeier’s $250,000 bail at a hearing next month. Pohlmeier has been jailed since his arrest Sept. 15. His trial was set for Dec. 18.
Pohlmeier is accused of choking his 86-year-old wife, Lidwina, into unconsciousness Sept. 13 in the mobile home the couple shared.
Lidwina Pohlmeier died two days later in a hospital without regaining consciousness. Pohlmeier originally told investigators that his wife was ill and he wanted her to die before he did. But investigators said Lidwina only had a mild cough and no other signs of illness when she died.
If convicted of premeditated murder, Pohlmeier would face a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in state prison.
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