Opinion ID: 1275251
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Defendant's Relationship With His Wife.

Text: Defendant and Cynthia had been married for two years at the time of the killings, and were the parents of two daughters, Star Child and Jamilah. Both were employed at Gallo Glass Company in Modesto, and during their spare time they operated a disco called the Golden Touch. Defendant and his wife jointly owned their residence, and prior to their marriage defendant had purchased a house on Benson Avenue in Modesto, which they rented out. Defendant testified he loved his wife and got along well with her, apart from brief separations occasioned by transient emotional changes during each of her pregnancies. She was pregnant at the time of her death and, as was her custom, had gone to stay with her mother, from which stay she had returned around Christmas. Prosecution witness Patsy Thomas testified that, sometime after Christmas, she overheard an argument between defendant and his wife, during which Cynthia said, Well, it doesn't really matter because I am leaving anyway  this time for good. Thomas testified defendant replied, Over my dead body. Thomas also testified she heard defendant say he had purchased $100,000 of insurance on Cynthia's life and that Cynthia wanted the money she had put into the disco, as she did not want to be involved in the business. Defendant denied Cynthia had threatened to leave.