Man convicted of killing wife, burning body
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A former Southern California college district administrator was convicted Monday of second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his wife.
He dismembered her body and tried to burn it in a campfire, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.
After reporting deadlocks last Thursday and earlier Monday, the Superior Court jury agreed to convict Richard Gustav Forsberg after the prosecutor withdrew a first-degree murder charge.
The former Coast Community College District administrator had a long-troubled marriage before he argued with his wife, Marcia Ann Forsberg, on Feb. 9, 2010, and clubbed her with a statue when she turned her back, prosecutors said.
Forsberg kept her body in their home and decapitated and dismembered her body over the next few days. He bought two freezers, rented a recreational vehicle and took the parts of her frozen body to a campground at Lake Piru Recreation Area in Ventura County.
He disposed of her by burning the dismembered parts of her body.
Forsberg's attorney, Calvin Schneider, said the verdict was probably appropriate.
"This lady lost her life and her husband ruined his life in a moment of rage and haste," Schneider said.
