Long Island man guilty of 2nd degree murder of wife

A 42 year old Long Island, NY man was convicted of murder in the 2nd degree Tuesday after he admitted stabbing his wife, who was cheating on him, to death after an argument about the adultery. Jose Toxtle had left his family and lawyer career in Mexico to be with the wife.

Jose Toxtle's wife, Teresa Barrera, 42, was stabbed to death after 8 knife thrusts after an argument about an affair which she had. According to Nassau County Prosecutor Anna Acquafredda, toxtle hid a knife behind his wife's back for 30 seconds before killing her. He suspected for days that she was cheating on him, which was confirmed.

The jury of 10 men and 2 women had to decide whether to convict Toxtle of manslaughter or 2nd degree murder, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life. Mansalughter would have been Toxtle's conviction if the jury had played into the theory of "extreme emotional distress."

According to both the prosecutor and the defense lawyer in the case, Toxtle's wife admitted having an affair, then -- as he begged on his knees that she stay with him -- told him that he had a small penis and did not satisfy her sexually. Then he killed her."

Theresa makes a comment to him that no man should ever hear," defense lawyer David Haber of Woodbury told a jury of 10 men and two women in his closing argument Monday. "She says he has a small penis. She says he is no good for sex. Jose is down on his knees, and she is laughing at him."

"She believes they're having a conversation about their marriage, but he has a knife behind his back."

Defense lawyer David Haber of Woodbury said he was disappointed that the jury did not see the distress his client was under."No one was attempting to justify what he did," he said. "But what she said took him out of his character."Haber said Toxtle was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance, a legal term that means a reasonable person in the same situation would have snapped.

During the four-day trial, Haber called an expert witness, Dr. Lawrence Siegel, a psychiatrist, who said Toxtle's behavior - forgetting things about the crime, admitting his guilt right away, feeling suicidal - are typical of people in an extreme emotional disturbance.