Man Pleads Guilty in Wife’s Drowning, Gets 30-Year Term
A wealthy New Orleans real estate executive has pleaded guilty in the 1986 drowning death of his wife and began serving the balance of a 30-year prison sentence Thursday to avoid a third trial.
Edward Post, who pleaded guilty this week to second-degree murder, was convicted in two earlier jury trials for the murder of his wife, Julie. But both verdicts were overturned, the first because a court deputy allegedly had sex with a juror and the second because hearsay evidence was introduced.
Prosecutors said Post purchased the bulk of a $700,000 life insurance policy on his wife shortly before drowning her in a hotel bathtub during a business trip to St. Louis.
He has spent the past 6 1/2 years in jail without bond and must serve another 3 1/2 years before becoming eligible for parole.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
