Bechler jurors continue deliberating

Deepa Bharath

SANTA ANA -- Jurors on Thursday continued deliberations, but reached

no verdict, in the trial of Eric Bechler, the man accused of murdering

his wife during a boating trip more than three years ago.

The 12-member jury, which started deliberating late Wednesday

afternoon, will continue today as well. Family members and members of the

media lined the corridor of the 10th floor of the courthouse until jurors

filed out around 4:30 p.m.

The prosecution has alleged that Bechler hit his 38-year-old wife,

Pegye, on the head with a dumbbell and dumped her body in the ocean. But

Bechler has consistently pleaded not guilty, saying that Pegye was swept

under water by a wave while driving their rented speedboat and towing him

on a body board. Her body was never found.

Both prosecution and defense attorneys concluded their closing

arguments Wednesday afternoon. The prosecution maintained that Bechler

murdered his wife for her $2.5-million life insurance policy. Prosecutors

brought in a forensic accountant to interpret the more than 22,000 pages

of the Bechlers’ financial records.

The defense argued throughout that Bechler lied about killing his wife

to impress his former girlfriend, Tina New. Bechler was arrested in

October 1999 after New wore a recording device to help investigators

surreptitiously tape conversations between her and Bechler in which he

talked about killing his wife.

The defense said that Bechler spun a grisly tale of murder and

betrayal to fuel New’s fantasy of being with “bad boys” who lived on the

edge and had frequent encounters with the law.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Bechler faces life in prison

without parole.