A former pro baseball player has admitted to beating his wife to death with a hammer – changing his plea just a month before he was due to face trial for her murder.
John Tercheria, 71, who once played for a minor league baseball team in Minnesota Twins, broke down in tears in court this week as he apologized for killing his wife Linda, the East Bay Times reports.
He reportedly decided to speak after the court heard from two of Linda’s close friends on Tuesday.
John Tercheria (pictured) admitted beating his wife Linda to death with a hammer last year
The 71-year-old woman was found dead at the couple’s home in Blackhawk, California, on August 7 last year, having sustained more than 20 blows to the head with a hammer.
Tercheria – who had faced a death sentence at the start of the case – accepted a plea deal that will see him sentenced to 17 years and four months behind bars.
With good behavior, the sentence could be cut by 20 per cent.
He pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter, elder abuse and domestic violence with great bodily injury.
But his change of plea and sentence didn’t satisfy Jan Lee – Linda Tercheria’s best friend since childhood.
Linda Tercheria (pictured) sustained 20 blows to the head in the fatal beating in August 2016
The 71-year-old woman was found dead at the couple’s home in Blackhawk, California (above)
‘I think he should stay in prison until Linda comes back, which is never going to happen,’ she said, according to the Times.
Lee added that the murder – a case which shocked the local community – has devastated the couple’s adult daughter Lisa.
But prosecutor Chris Walpole has said that Linda’s family didn’t want to face a trial and that the sentence means Tercheria is likely to die in prison.
The case took an unexpected turn when it was revealed that Tercheria was having an affair with a woman who claims she gave him an ultimatum in the days before the killing, urging him to move away with her.
She told police that she and Tercheria began an illicit relationship after meeting in a Target store several years ago.
The woman also said that Tercheria, who now owns a construction company, had paid her $30,000 over the years – including $1,000 around the time of the killing.
But Tercheria’s attorney William Gagen denied the pair were involved, saying the evidence suggested that she was actually extorting money from him.
Gagen also said that the beating was ‘out of character’ for Tercheria and suggested his health concerns were to blame.
Tercheria, who was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame ten years ago, had been showing early signs of dementia and was prescribed steroids by an ‘anti-aging’ clinic, he said.
Walpole denied that this should be a mitigating factor, telling the court: ‘In this case, the defendant knew exactly what he was doing.’