Ontario woman pleads not guilty to murdering husband
Ontario resident Mia Joleen Gonzales pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that she murdered her husband following an argument over his alleged affair.
Gonzales, 33, told police she accidentally shot her husband, Abel Gonzales, 44, in the early morning of Oct. 27, 2007 in the family home in the 1900 block of South Almond Avenue.
Gonzales pleaded not guilty to the charge in San Bernardino Superior Court. A judge ruled she must stand trial on the murder charge after police testimony at a preliminary hearing on Dec. 15.
In testimony Dec. 15, officers said Gonzales told them she and her husband were arguing in their bedroom over his alleged affair and talking about getting a divorce.
She told police that she slapped her husband twice and kicked him once. After that he grabbed her arms and threw her, she told police.
She went to the other side of the room and retrieved a handgun -- she told police she wanted it to protect herself from her husband.
After she got the gun, she told police she ended up straddling him on the bed. While on top of him, she decided she didn't want to fight anymore, she told police.
She told police she was trying to get off the bed when the gun accidentally discharged, a bullet striking Abel Gonzales in the head.
Prosecutors say the shooting wasn't accidental -- they say the time she took to retrieve the gun was enough time for her to premeditate the shooting.
Also, a ballistics test of the weapon showed the trigger was functioning properly, and could only be discharged with a firm, sustained pull of the trigger, according to police testimony.
Gonzales remains jailed in lieu of $2 million bail and is next due in court for a pre-trial hearing Jan. 27.
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