[ad_1]
A former New Hampshire medical assistant has been ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of his wife.
William Argie, 49, was convicted on Monday of first degree murder and falsifying criminal evidence in the 2019 death of his wife, Maureen Argie, 39, reported Law and criminality. Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Marguerite Wageling handed down the life sentence after family members of Maureen Argie delivered victim impact statements to court on Tuesday.
“Your selfish, narcissistic and possibly addictive behavior has led to devastation on your family,” Wageling told Argie, according to Law and criminality.
Maureen Argie’s body was discovered at her Londonberry home on April 4, 2019 after police carried out a welfare check, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. His death was immediately deemed “suspicious” according to Boston WHDH.
William Argie was found in “a Connecticut casino” on April 5, and it was determined he had attempted suicide, according to the North Andover Eagle-Tribune. (There are only two casinos in Connecticut: Mohegan Sun in Uncasville and Foxwoods in Mashantucket.)
William Argie was indicted by a grand jury in the death of his wife and then arrested in June 2019, according to a statement from the New Hampshire Department of Justice. Prosecutors accused him of “strangling and / or suffocating” his wife. He waived his indictment and pleaded not guilty in December 2019, on The union leader reported; his trial has been repeatedly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Aigle-Tribune.
Prosecutors alleged, during the indictment of documents and then at trial, that the former physician’s assistant was a gambling addict who was deeply in debt and on the verge of Connecticut bankruptcy laws"}” data-sheets-userformat=”{"2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}”>Connecticut bankruptcy laws, according to the newspapers. The Derry News reported that prosecutors said an attempted family intervention the year before the murder had no effect on William Argie’s addiction.
Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Maureen Argie was actively seeking a divorce due to her husband’s financial situation, including considering selling the couple’s home and obtaining primary custody of their two school-aged children. They also presented evidence that Maureen Argie called Londonberry Police the week before her murder to make sure her phone could make emergency calls, and told her father days before her murder that she feared that her husband is watching his cell phone.
Prosecutors also called to the stand – testimony that William Argie’s lawyers tried unsuccessfully to exclude, the Union leader reported – Argie’s playmate James Timbas. Timbas told police that Argie tried to hire him to kill Maureen Argie and pass it off as suicide in exchange for cutting his life insurance policy by $ 400,000. Timbas said William Argie was so drunk he didn’t take the offer very seriously, but that Argie often said “he would be better off without” his wife, reported Law and criminality.
Another friend, Dan Larochelle, testified that Argie often spoke about killing his wife and getting custody of their children – and suggested he might hire a hitman.
Argie spoke up for himself on Friday and said he found Maureen Argie dead from suicide on April 4, 2019, but instead of calling the police or his wife’s family, he took the car and his wife’s cell phone at the casino where he was found the next day, Law and reported crime. (He has denied claims that he used his wife’s debit card at a Dunkin Donuts en route or to pay for his hotel room at the casino, although his card was used after his death for both purchases. )
When asked by prosecutors why he didn’t report his wife’s alleged suicide, Argie replied, “What would 911 do, sir?”
The defense and prosecutors presented their closing arguments on Monday; the jury returned a guilty verdict that day.
Crime Time is your destination for real crime stories from around the world, crime news, and information on original Oxygen shows and documentaries. Sign up for Oxygen Insider to experience the best real crime content.
[ad_2]
