Verdict In on Corn Rake Murder in America's Heartland

An Iowa hog farmer on trial for murdering his wife has heard his fate. CNN and the Washington Post report that Todd Mullis was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury Monday in a Dubuque County courtroom, despite his initial claim that Amy Mullis died in November 2018 after accidentally falling on a corn rake while she was doing chores. Coroners determined just two days after she was found that her death was a homicide. Prosecutors argued that Mullis was furious after finding out about an affair his wife was having with Jerry Frasher, a field manager on the family's Earlville farm. The guilty verdict—which the Telegraph Herald reports the jury deliberated on for nearly eight hours—brings with it a mandatory life sentence without parole. Mullis' attorney says he'll appeal. (More on the case here.)