March 11, 2010
By Dennis Hart
A Fresno jury found a 69-year-old Cambodian refugee guilty of murder Wednesday in the stabbing death of his estranged wife.
"It was a very sad case all around," prosecutor Jeff Dupras told KMJ News following the verdict.
The jury deliberated less than two hours before finding Pech Sok guilty of first-degree murder, fatally stabbing his estranged wife, Boune Say.
Depras said Sok did it because his wife had recently left him.
Defense attorney Manuel Nieto had argued it was manslaughter -- a crime of passion, not murder.
"The issue wasn't whether he killed her," Nieteo told KMJ News. "That was a given. The issue was -- why?"
Sok had come to the United States to seek a new life after his first wife died in Cambodia -- a victim of dictator Pol Pot's purges.
His second wife died 11 years ago, drowning in the San Joaquin River as she tried to save the lives of two of their children, who also drowned.
Sok now faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.
He will be sentenced next month.
By Dennis Hart
A Fresno jury found a 69-year-old Cambodian refugee guilty of murder Wednesday in the stabbing death of his estranged wife.
"It was a very sad case all around," prosecutor Jeff Dupras told KMJ News following the verdict.
The jury deliberated less than two hours before finding Pech Sok guilty of first-degree murder, fatally stabbing his estranged wife, Boune Say.
Depras said Sok did it because his wife had recently left him.
Defense attorney Manuel Nieto had argued it was manslaughter -- a crime of passion, not murder.
"The issue wasn't whether he killed her," Nieteo told KMJ News. "That was a given. The issue was -- why?"
Sok had come to the United States to seek a new life after his first wife died in Cambodia -- a victim of dictator Pol Pot's purges.
His second wife died 11 years ago, drowning in the San Joaquin River as she tried to save the lives of two of their children, who also drowned.
Sok now faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.
He will be sentenced next month.
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