WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Lake Worth Beach man has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally attacking his wife with a sledgehammer and a knife.
News outlets report 40-year-old Walter Ricardo Lopez Barrios was convicted Thursday of murdering his wife in 2016 and assaulting his then-12-year-old stepdaughter.
Testimony showed Lopez Barrios attacked 56-year-old Martha Montoya after she confronted him about allegedly molesting her oldest daughter. Montoya's daughters awoke to hear her screams and the youngest one went to investigate with a knife. Lopez Barrios chased her out of the room with the hammer.
Lopez Barrios says he killed Montoya in self-defense because she came at him with a gun. Assistant State Attorney Aleathea McRoberts says evidence did not support his claim.
Prosecutors told jurors Lopez Barrios molested the oldest daughter but won't be charged.
