Anaheim Hills : Wife-Slaying Suspect Enters Not-Guilty Plea
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An Anaheim man who fled to the mountains of Montana after allegedly killing his wife pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder at his arraignment Tuesday.
David Lee Schoenecker, 48, charged with fatally shooting his 40-year-old wife, Gail, at their Anaheim Hills home on May 5, could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Schoenecker appeared at Municipal Court in Fullerton, where a preliminary hearing was scheduled for July 28.
Schoenecker, a chemical engineer, had written a letter to an Orange County Register columnist, dated May 8, saying that he had killed his wife. The letter also included a threat to “punish” 54 relatives and acquaintances named in a list.
Captured May 12 near the Idaho and Montana border as he trudged through knee-deep snow, Schoenecker was brought back to Orange County. He is being held without bail at Orange County Jail.
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