A Florida man was convicted Tuesday for murdering his wife so he could cash in on a $1 million life insurance policy.
Michel Escoto was found guilty of first degree murder in the 2002 death of Wendy Trapaga, whom he was married to for four days. Escoto drugged and beat his wife to death with a tire iron, CBS Miami reported. Trapaga, 21, was found bludgeoned and asphyxiated in a local warehouse district.
"This was a crime of greed," Assistant State Attorney Gail Levine, who prosecuted the case, told the jury during closing arguments.
Investigators charged Escoto after he tried to sue the insurance company to collect the $1 million policy, which he apparently took out right after he married Trapaga.
"The truth is out and he's finally going to pay after almost 12 years," Trapaga's sister, Rita Stephan, told CBS News.
Escoto first tried to kill Trapaga by drugging and then drowning her in a Jacuzzi to make it look like an accidental overdose, according to testimony from the defendant's girlfriend, Yolanda Cerillo, CBS Miami reported.
But that plan was foiled when Trapaga woke up in the water and struggled.
Cerillo said Escoto drove Trapaga to the North Miami-Dade warehouse district where he beat her with a tire iron. The girlfriend remained in the car while Escoto killed his wife, according to her testimony. Escoto then dumped the murder weapon in the Biscayne Bay.
In his attempt to sue the insurance company Escoto said the last time he saw his wife was when she drove away after they had an argument, CBS Miami reported. But Trapaga was so drugged up that she was unable to drive, according to a toxicologist.
Escoto insisted that he represent himself during his trial. Terry Lenamon, his legal adviser, told the station that in the end Escoto hurt himself by not having a trained lawyer.
"He failed to attack [Cerillo's] credibility because he was not qualified to do her cross-examination," Lenamon said. "He could not touch any of the state's witnesses."
Escoto's sentencing is scheduled for May 7. He faces life in prison without parole.
