Defense: No evidence husband killed his wife

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MERRILL, Wis. (AP) — A prosecutor says a Lincoln County woman desperately tried to save her deteriorating marriage in the days and hours leading up to her death.

Anita Bucki’s husband, Mark Bucki, is on trial for strangling and stabbing her and dumping her body in a Taylor County swamp.

Lincoln County District Attorney Donald Dunphy told jurors Monday that Bucki killed his wife because he had a new girlfriend and wanted the victim out of his life.

Defense attorney Jessica Schuster told jurors there’s no blood or a murder weapon linking Bucki to the crime.

“There is not a single piece of physical evidence that ties Mark Bucki to Anita’s death,” Schuster said. “Mark wants to know what happened to Anita, too.”

Daily Herald Media reports Schuster said the couple’s marriage had been falling apart for years and that Anita Bucki was “fully aware” her husband was involved with another woman.

Mark Bucki told investigators he and his wife argued about their crumbling marriage for hours the night of April 25 and went to sleep in separate rooms, according to court documents. When Mark Bucki awoke at 6 a.m., he found Anita had disappeared without her purse, cellphone and car keys, according to his statement. He called police 12 hours later to report her missing.

Anita Bucki’s body was found May 9 after a massive ground and water search. Prosecutors planned to call their first witnesses Tuesday.

Information from: Wausau Daily Herald Media, http://www.wausaudailyherald.com