$1 million bond set for Dakota man accused of killing his wife

A bond of $1 million has been set by a Winona County judge for a Dakota man accused of killing his wife. 

Seventy-nine-year-old Joseph Wright is charged with second-degree murder for stabbing his wife Clara and beating her with a mallet at their home last Friday. 

Wright reportedly also left a suicide note, and was treated at a La Crosse hospital for injuries to his wrist. 

The Winona county attorney’s office asked for $4 million bail, but the public defender for Wright called that amount ‘shocking,’ and said it might as well be $4 trillion. 

Judge Mary Leahy set the bond Thursday morning, and scheduled a review of the bond conditions at another hearing on July 23rd.

Wright was arrested after calling 9-1-1 and claiming he killed Clara, who reportedly had dementia. 

Investigators say Joseph beat his wife in the head with a meat tenderizer and stabbed her in the heart and liver. 

The county attorney worries that Wright could flee to Florida, where he has a girlfriend.