Trial for woman accused of strangling husband with apron begins

Jurors heard tearful testimony on Monday during the trial of a woman accused of strangling her husband with her apron.

Maria Acevedo, who was 61 at the time of the homicide, sat with her eyes lowered as she listened to witnesses through an interpreter.

Her daughter-in-law, Valerie Roybal, described how she found her father-in-law Joe Acevedo sitting on the couch, dead, and so cold to the touch, she wasn’t even able to try CPR to revive him.

Roybal, a witness for the prosecution, also described the couple’s fights and said she’d seen Maria Acevedo with bruises and black eyes, but never saw Joe hit his wife.

“She loved that man so much no matter what he did. In our age, no one would stay in that kind of relationship, but she did,” said Acevedo.

Roybal began crying as she recalled Maria’s devotion to her husband.

“Maria worked hard, even making burritos to make money to support him,” Roybal said wiping away tears.

The trial continues Tuesday.