Cruise passenger who beat his wife to death blames CTE, PEDS

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JUNEAU - A Utah man awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the beating death of his wife on an Alaska cruise had brain abnormalities a defense expert deemed consistent with injuries caused by playing contact sports, according to a court filing in the case.

The filing by federal public defender Jamie McGrady states that this, combined with what was at the time an undiagnosed bipolar disorder and “a problematic combination of prescribed medication and alcohol resulted in an aberrant episode of violence” by Kenneth Manzanares.

Manzanares played football, wrestled and boxed when he was younger and had a history of “testosterone supplementation,” the filing states.

Manzanares’ attorneys, in the filing, say they plan to seek a 7 1/2 year prison sentence. Prosecutors, in a separate filing, say they will recommend a life sentence, saying Manzanares had committed “the most serious crime a person can commit against another.”

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