He And His Pregnant Wife Argued Over His Affair. Was It A Heat-Of-The-Moment Killing Or Murder?

A man admitted to killing his pregnant wife with a mallet. He said it was during the heat of an argument, a jury just said it was premeditated murder.

Now, the killer faces spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Recently, a Missouri jury found Beau Rothwell guilty of first-degree murder for killing his pregnant wife, Jennifer Rothwell, in 2019. Sentencing will be at a later date and Beau now faces life in prison.

Rothwell testified during his trial and said the two argued in their home on Nov. 11, 2019, about his extramarital affair, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“In the heat of everything, I hit her again,” Rothwell said, the Post-Dispatch noted. “I believe I cracked her skull, she fell unconscious and fell down the stairs.”

Beau claimed he never planned to kill his wife. He said Jennifer was angry over the affair and said her pregnancy was after her own affair.

He testified that he did kill his wife but painted it more as a case of manslaughter and not one of murder. Prosecutors painted a much more calculating picture and a cover-up.

Beau bought bleach and paper towels to disinfect the house, taking Jennifer’s remains an hour away, wrapping a plastic bag around her head and dumping her naked body in the woods, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Beau said he got the idea from TV crime shows about covering up evidence. Beau took Jennifer’s car and abandoned it to make it seem like she had trouble on the way to work. He then sent text messages to make it seem like he was worried about her.

Jennifer had also searched “what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant” before she went killed.

There were texts between Beau and the mistress that included the pros and cons of leaving his wife, the Post-Dispatch noted.

The Riverfront Times noted that Beau wrote that he had three options. They were to break up with the mistress, get a divorce or hope for a “miscarriage or something.”

That something turned out to be premeditated murder.