Courts
$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.