Iowa Farmer Found Guilty of Murdering Wife with Corn Rake

An Iowa farmer was found guilty of murdering his wife with a corn rake after prosecutors say he did it out of revenge over a secret affair.

Todd Mullis, 43, was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the death of his 39-year-old wife, Amy, on November 10 at his farm 40 miles west of Dubuque, the Des Moines Register reported.

The Telegraph Herald reported that Amy Mullis was found stabbed to death by the couple’s 14-year-old son after Todd Mullis asked him to check in on her.

Todd Mullis claimed his wife fell on the rake after undergoing a recent medical procedure, but prosecutors said medical evidence from an autopsy showed that he had purposefully stabbed her in the back with the rake.

Prosecutors said Todd Mullis conducted several Internet searches such as “killing unfaithful women,” “what happened to cheating spouses in historic Aztec tribes,” and “did ancient cultures kill adulterers.” Todd Mullis said he has never performed such Internet searches.

The Herald reported that Todd Mullis’s attorneys did not dispute that Amy was killed, but said there was a reasonable doubt about who killed her.

Jurors reached their verdict after deliberating eight hours over a two-day period. The trial had initially been moved from Delaware County to Dubuque because of the amount of pre-trial publicity.

Todd Mullis is facing a sentence of life in prison without parole for the first-degree murder conviction.