Judge: 2nd wife can testify about abuse in Lovelace trial

VIRGINIA, Ill. (AP) - A judge has ruled prosecutors can present evidence that Curtis Lovelace was abusive to his second wife when he is retried in his first wife's death.

The Quincy Herald-Whig reports (http://bit.ly/2jVuAtD ) a judge ruled Tuesday. It's a reversal from the former Adams County prosecutor's first trial when Erika Gomez was barred from testifying about the claims.

Lovelace is charged with first-degree murder in 38-year-old Cory Lovelace's Valentine's Day 2006 death. He faces a Feb. 27 second trial after the first ended with a deadlocked jury.

Lovelace's attorney argued Gomez's testimony would include "vindictive, angry and untrue allegations," and would turn the trial into a "sideshow."

Lovelace has said he found his first wife dead in bed. An initial autopsy was inconclusive, but prosecutors argued subsequent forensic tests and photographic evidence determined she was suffocated.

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Information from: The Quincy Herald-Whig, http://www.whig.com