Trial starts for woman accused of murdering her husband

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A local woman is accused of murdering her husband and staging the crime scene to fake a home robbery.

According to prosecutors, Sandra Melgar tied up, stabbed and stuffed the body of her husband, 52-year-old Jaime Melgar, into a closet in their northwest Harris County home in December 2012.

The prosecution said they don't have a motive in this case, but there's no way anything else happened.

Sandra's defense team said homicide detectives made up their minds from the start of the case.

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In court, Sandra started crying when gruesome crime scene photos of her husband were shown. Investigators said Jaime was stabbed 31 times with a knife.

Prosecutors said Sandra faked a home robbery, killed her husband and then staged the scene by tying herself up and locking herself inside by wedging a chair under a doorknob. She also gave conflicting stories of what happened that night, prosecutors said.

Sandra's defense attorney claimed Harris County investigators botched their case by not testing a bloody fingerprint found on a safe inside the home.

If found guilty, Sandra Melgar could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

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