Wife Killer Sentenced to 26 Years

A Fountain Valley man who forced his estranged wife to write a suicide note, then stabbed her dozens of times while their toddler son was nearby, was sentenced Friday to 26 years to life in prison.

Thomas Storey, 28, a former U.S. Navy petty officer, was convicted Oct. 27 of the first-degree murder of 22-year-old Gechee “Ginny” Storey.

An Orange County jury rejected Storey’s claim that his wife wrote a suicide note and stabbed herself in the stomach, which then touched off a psychotic reaction in Storey, leading him to stab her 25 more times in the back.

The Feb. 10, 1998, attack was in the Fountain Valley home that Storey and his wife shared with her parents. She had filed for divorce, but both were still living in the house.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Chris Kralick argued that Storey forced his wife to write the suicide note, then attacked her.

The attack was interrupted by the woman’s mother, who entered the room. But Storey shoved her out and continued to stab his wife in the back, with the couple’s 2-year-old son nearby, according to testimony.

The Navy discharged Storey, who worked as a driver transporting dancers to private parties, for mental problems, according to trial testimony.

His attorney said Storey had received electroshock treatments before his wife’s death.