Rancho Mirage woman who killed her husband in 2008 sentenced to 15 years to life

A woman was sentenced today to 15 years to life in state prison for fatally stabbing her 83-year-old husband as he slept at their Rancho Mirage home more than 10 years ago.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Harold Hopp, who handed down the sentence at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, gave Marsha Kay Esswein, now 75, credit for nearly eight years of time served.

Several members of the victim's family spoke during the hearing, including the victim's son who held back tears as he blasted the defendant for killing his father in cold blood.

"This is the most vicious, cold-blooded act of violence I've ever heard of, and I believe Marsha Esswein should spend the rest of her life in prison for what she did," he said.

In 2012, an Indio jury found the defendant guilty of first-degree murder in the Aug. 8, 2008, death of her husband, Richard, at their home in the Mission Hills Country Club. The state's 4th District Court of Appeal subsequently ordered a new trial, citing prosecutorial misconduct.

The appellate panel determined that Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Christopher R. Ross argued during his opening statement that Esswein's actions were premeditated, when in fact no such evidence was presented to jurors attesting to those allegations during the trial. Esswein subsequently struck a deal with prosecutors in which she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, avoiding a second trial.

According to preliminary hearing testimony from 2009, the couple were getting a divorce at the time of the murder, and acquaintances said the victim may have been trying to change his will. Riverside County sheriff's Investigator Nelson Gomez testified that he did not see any signs of a struggle in the home. Gomez said two knives were found in Marsha Esswein's room and some pills were found in the bathroom. He said that when he went to the husband's room, he saw the body partially covered with a blanket.

"There were some type of crosses, crucifixes on him and a statue of Jesus above his head,'' Gomez said, adding that he saw bloodstains on the carpet, bed, a desk and leading out into the hallway.

During an interview at a hospital later that day, Esswein admitted stabbing her husband and placing the items on and around his body because he was a Catholic, according to Gomez.

He said Esswein told him that the couple had gotten into an argument about how "the meat had been cooked" the night before, and that her husband put a knife to her throat and told her "if she made another comment he would kill her."

She said she followed him to his room where the couple, who both had knives, began to struggle and ended up on the floor, he testified.

"She ended up on top of him and she ended up stabbing him," Gomez said, adding that Esswein changed her story about what happened several times during the interview. Investigators believed the defendant's cuts on her wrists and neck were self-inflicted.

An autopsy determined that Richard Esswein had multiple stab wounds, including 15 to 20 "poke wounds'' and more than 10 "incision-type wounds," sheriff's Detective Gary LeClair testified.

Gomez testified that Marsha Esswein told him that she was bipolar and had seen a psychiatrist.

According to court documents, friends and relatives told investigators that a possible motive for the killing may have been financial and that Richard Esswein may have been attempting to alter his will. Relatives told authorities that several unusual cash withdrawals and money transfers had occurred within a month of his death.

Gomez testified that an active will found at the house left everything to Richard Esswein's children. Another will, which was invalid, left everything to Marsha Esswein, he testified.

The couple were married for 27 years but had no children together.

According to the divorce petition, the couple's assets included their Rancho Mirage home, a 2003 BMW, a company called Associated Financial Consultants Inc., a 401K and Roth IRA in Marsha Esswein's name and a family trust.