Trial to begin for samurai sword slaying

Nearly three years after he allegedly killed his wife with a samurai sword, Pasadena fireman Michael Burton is set to stand trial for murder.

Jurors are set to hear opening statements from attorneys in Burton's case Wednesday morning in West Valley Superior Court, said Deputy District Attorney Michelle Daly.

Prosecutors accuse Burton, 48, of killing Otilia Burton, 35, on July 16, 2006 at the couple's Rancho Cucamonga home, then trying to stab himself to death.

The couple was going through a bitter divorce at the time of the slaying, court records show.