A 77-year-old San Pedro man pleaded guilty Wednesday to fatally shooting his 72-year-old wife in bed in January 2015.
George Matsumoto — who had been set to go on trial later this month — pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and admitted personally using a firearm in the killing of his wife, Mary, who was shot three times in the head.
The couple had been married for more than two decades, according to Deputy District Attorney Kelly Kelley. The defendant told police that he believed his wife was having an affair and that he “snapped,” but there was no evidence to support his claim, the prosecutor said.
A family member contacted authorities on Jan. 14, 2015, and asked for a welfare check after not hearing from the victim in several days. Authorities found the woman in bed in her pajamas, and her husband on the sofa unresponsive and despondent, Kelley said.
Matsumoto is due back in a Long Beach courtroom Dec. 12, when he is expected to be sentenced to 19 years to life in state prison.
–City News Service
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