Other conviction: Michele Marie MacNeill, née Somers, (January 15, 1957 – April 11, 2007) was an American homemaker and model.
She died in Pleasant Grove, Utah, on April 11, 2007, while at home recovering from cosmetic surgery performed eight days earlier.
During the trial, which began on October 17, 2013, Chief Prosecutor Chad Grunander stated, "It was an almost perfect murder, [MacNeill] pumped her full of drugs that he knew would be difficult to detect once she was dead.
"[1] Martin MacNeill was convicted of Michele's murder and obstruction of justice in a widely publicized case involving marital infidelity, sexual abuse, and outward religious devotion.
[1] Michele was the mother of eight children: Rachel, Vanessa, Alexis, Damian, Giselle, Elle, Sabrina, and Ada—the latter four of whom were supposedly adopted from Ukraine.
[12][2] He was reputedly dissatisfied with his marriage, made statements about wanting a divorce, and had extramarital affairs—including a relationship with Gypsy Willis—before and after the death of his wife.
[2] Although Michele survived, Alexis then took care of dispensing medicine to her mother during the rest of her stay at her parents' home.
[1][18] During the weeks leading up to the murder, MacNeill gave the impression that he had contracted a medical condition that required him to walk with a cane.
[2][5] The children of Michele and Martin MacNeill questioned their mother's cause of death, and pressed for a review of the toxicology report.
[2] Dr. Todd Grey, the State of Utah's chief medical examiner, performed the review, and found that none of the medicines found in her body were at toxic levels, but that the combination of Promethazine (Phenergan), Zolpidem (Ambien), Diazepam (Valium) and Oxycodone (Percocet) "could have led to sedation and heart arrhythmia, resulting in cardiac death".
Because of Grey's report, her manner of death was changed on October 6, 2010, to "undetermined" and the cause to "combined effects of heart disease and drug toxicity".
His stated motive was tax evasion, as Willis owed substantial sums to the Internal Revenue Service and Martin wished to avoid any possible liability for these debts.
[19] He was released from prison on the identity theft charges in July 2012, whereupon Utah county officials announced that Martin was a suspect in the murder of his wife.
[20] In 2011, Willis was sentenced to three years' probation for her part in the identity theft scheme, with credit for 180 days in jail awaiting trial.
Medical examiners did not rule that her death was the result of murder, but prosecutors convinced the jury that Martin MacNeill was responsible for killing his wife by drowning and prescription drugs.
[24] The 22-day trial[25] was litigated by Chief Prosecutor Chad Grunander, and Martin MacNeill's defense team included Randall Spencer[1][17] and Susanne Gustin.
[26] In his closing statement to the jury, Grunander stated, "It was an almost perfect murder, [MacNeill] pumped her full of drugs that he knew would be difficult to detect once she was dead.
The jury deliberated for 11 hours and on November 9, 2013, found MacNeill guilty of the first degree murder of his wife, Michele, on April 11, 2007.
He was also convicted by the Provo, Utah, jury of obstruction of justice for hindering the investigation of his wife's murder[17] by attempting to make Michele's death appear accidental.
[27] In addition to the murder trial, Martin was found guilty of forcible sexual abuse of his daughter, Alexis Somers, and was sentenced for one to 15 years for that crime.
According to the report from the Unified Police Department, MacNeill killed himself by accessing a natural gas hose that provided fuel for a greenhouse heater.
[33] The South Korean variety program Crime Scene adapted aspects of the Michele MacNeill case for an episode in 2014.
The toxicology report reveals lethal levels of painkillers at the time of death, leading to Martin MacNeill's arrest, conviction and sentencing for the murder of his wife of 30 years.