Wife Pleads Not Guilty in Domestic Slaying
A 46-year-old Tujunga woman, whose husband was found bludgeoned to death an hour after police officers responding to a domestic-dispute call left without checking on his welfare, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of murder.
Michele Chapman entered the plea during her arraignment in San Fernando Municipal Court.
Police said Chapman killed her husband, Thomas Chapman, 52, at their apartment in the 1000 block of Samoa Avenue during a domestic quarrel June 9.
Before the killing, Michele Chapman called police to the apartment in an attempt to have them intervene, prosecutors said. Police urged Michele Chapman to stay with a neighbor instead of returning to her apartment and left without speaking to Thomas Chapman.
An hour later, paramedics called to the apartment pronounced Thomas Chapman dead.
The Los Angeles Police Department is reviewing the incident and questioning officers on their handling of the call.
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