RIVERSIDE, CA — An ex-cop who drowned his wife in their back patio hot tub was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison while continuing to proclaim his innocence.Blair Christopher Hall, 52, insists the June 7, 2007, death of his wife, Cristi Lynne, was a “tragic accident.”
Hall's first-degree murder conviction on May 31 came a year after his first trial ended in a mistrial when jurors deadlocked 8-4 in favor of guilt.
According to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, the defendant attacked his 47-year-old wife in their Jacuzzi, submerging her until she was dead.
She had an $800,000 life insurance policy at the time.
Dr. Mark Scott McCormick, a county forensic pathologist, testified that the “constellation of injuries” gave every indication of foul play, pointing to the hemorrhaging in the victim's eyes and mouth as well as the lacerations, abrasions and contusions on her head, face and arms.
The defendant was a San Bernardino police officer for 12 years before taking medical retirement.
He was later hired to work as a police chief in two Idaho towns but was terminated and later convicted of embezzling $19,000 from a drug task force fund, a felony for which he served no time.
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Thanks to HppyCmpr35 for this news scoop
