Music teacher Kristine Fitzhugh (1947-2000) was murdered on May 5, 2000 in her home in Palo Alto, California. Her husband Kenneth Carroll Fitzhugh Jr. (1943-2012) was convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life.
Video Murder of Kristine Fitzhugh
Investigation
Kenneth Fitzhugh told police he had been away from his home, when he received a call from Kristine's workplace, saying she had failed to meet her classes. He asked two family friends to go with him to the house, where they found Kristine dead at the bottom of the basement stairs.
Kenneth asserted Kristine had fallen on the stairs because she was wearing a pair of dangerously unsteady shoes, but water-diluted blood in the kitchen showed that she had been killed there - hit on the head seven times and strangled - then repositioned at the bottom of the stairs in a staged accident.
Kenneth claimed he was in San Mateo, far from home, at the time of the murder, but phone records showed that he received a call at that time while in the Fitzhugh's neighborhood. A search of Kenneth's car found clothing, shoes and other items stained with Kristine's blood.
Kenneth's alibi had been he was working. He was a real estate agent, and he was inspecting property in San Mateo at the time of the murder, however his cellphone records showed Kenneth's phone in his Palo Alto neighborhood instead.
Maps Murder of Kristine Fitzhugh
Conviction
In 2001 Kenneth Fitzhugh was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life. An appeal was rejected in 2006. The motive for the murder is uncertain. Kenneth may have been angry that Kristine was about to reveal to her eldest son that his biological father was not Kenneth; a DNA test conducted after the murder confirmed this. In addition, had he not been convicted Kenneth would have collected $96,000 from Kristine's life insurance and some or all of her $900,000 estate.
Fitzhugh was paroled on compassionate grounds in February 2012 due to Parkinson's Disease, and died in Palo Alto on October 27, 2012, at age 69.
This case had made international news at the time of the trial and inspired the creation of various television shows and books.
References
External links
- Kristine Fitzhugh murder story archive, from Palo Alto Weekly News
Source of article : Wikipedia
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