The man accused of killing his wife and making it look like an accident took the stand on Monday in his own defense. Joe Fitzpatrick is charged with killing his wife Anne-Marie in 2012 in York County. Fitzpatrick broke down in tears while he was on the stand. He is charged with homicide.
Prosecutors say Fitzpatrick held his wife down in a creek on their York County property and drowned her back in June of 2012. Fitzpatrick told jurors that it was an ATV accident. He said he and Anne-Marie were both flung into the water and that he couldn’t find his wife.
He also testified that when he found her he was able to pull her to the shore and begin CPR. He also kept saying he was ashamed of an affair he was having with another woman, and that shame was the reason why he threw away his wife’s cell phone the day after she died instead of giving it to police. He said it was to hide the affair from his two daughters, not to conceal a murder.
Fitzpatrick’s attorney spoke about the state of mind his client has been in over the course of the trial. “I think it’s all over the place. I think he’s incredibly sad. I think he’s optimistic. I think there’s also an element of being scared. I think it’s all the emotions that you would expect someone to feel who is in this situation. but i think he’s holding up well and he has faith in this jury and hopefully we’ll get the right result,” said Fitzpatrick’s attorney Chris Ferro.
