Felton-area wife killer denied $500K life insurance payout
Instead, the money must go to the couple's two teenage daughters, according to
"It's long overdue," said attorney
Fitzpatrick, 44, was found guilty in 2015 of murdering
"Under
Fitzpatrick earlier this month had his first-degree murder conviction reinstated, as well as his life sentence without the possibility of parole. His conviction had been overturned, but a state appeals court later determined the conviction was proper and ordered it reinstated.
"It is undisputed that
Family supporting kids: Jones' ruling granted a summary judgment request made by Annemarie's parents, who live in
The judge then ordered the case closed.
Summers said this is expected to be the first life-insurance payout for Annemarie, and added he expects this first case will help speed up the insurance-distribution process.
"Annemarie's family has been supporting the kids all these years, and they'll continue to do that," he said, but having extra money will make that easier.
"Essentially, all this money has been parked in the court system for some time," Summers said.
The background: A jury on
He drowned her on
Circumstantial evidence against Fitzpatrick included notes left by Annemarie that implicated her husband, as well as the fact that he was involved in an emotional affair with another woman.
Fitzpatrick had a total of
Victim's notes: Just hours before her death, Annemarie wrote, dated and signed a note in her day-planner at work that said, "If anything happens to me -- Joe."
She also wrote an email to herself the same morning, with the subject line "if something happens to me."
It stated: "Joe and I are having marital problems. Last night we almost had an accident where a huge log fell on me. Joe was on the pile with the log and had me untying a tarp directly below."
The night of Annemarie's death, she and her husband ate dinner at their picnic table next to the creek. Prosecutors told jurors that Fitzpatrick physically forced his wife into the water and drowned her.
He then rolled their ATV into the creek and called 911, reporting Annemarie had been driving the ATV, with him on the back, when it went into the creek, according to testimony.
Hearsay issue? While defense attorney
Barker said prosecutors "have no concern whatsoever" that the hearsay argument could lead to a new trial. He said there's clear case law regarding state-of-mind hearsay exceptions, and Annemarie's notes fall into that category.
"They were introduced to show what her state of mind was -- and to rebut the fact that (Fitzpatrick) asserted they had a happy marriage," Barker has said.
-- Reach
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