Posted: Feb 9, 2012 6:29 AM
Updated: Feb 9, 2012 7:55 AM
A hearing for a Lexington man convicted last month of beating his wife to death and is seeking a new trial has been moved to Tuesday.
Defense lawyers say shortly after jurors began deliberating the case of 49-year-old Donald Southworth, they asked to see an exhibit but that the document they were given wasn't the original. The exhibit was a "copy of divorce papers found in a trash can," the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Defense attorneys say in their motion for a new trial that the jury indicated it had reached a verdict before the court had a chance to explain the discrepancy and submit the actual exhibit.
The hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Southworth was convicted of murdering 44-year-old Umi Southworth, who was found severely beaten behind her home in June 2010. She died the next day.
Associated Press Wire Services Contributed To This Story.
Comments