IE Woman Killed Boyfriend With Skillet After He Stabbed Her: Report

SAN BERNARDINO, CA — A San Bernardino woman charged with murder testified Monday that she took her boyfriend’s life in self-defense, hitting him with a cast-iron skillet and cutting his throat with a knife after he stabbed her and threatened to kill her, The Press-Enterprise reported.

Trista Ann Spicer, 46, has pleaded not guilty to the charge in the 2014 killing, according to the newspaper.

She and a friend wrapped the remains of Eric Mercado, 42, in an air mattress and hid them in a storage area under concrete steps in her yard, The Press-Enterprise reported, and an acquaintance bricked the body inside.

Spicer said she had been abused daily by Mercado after she relapsed when he offered her meth following six years off drugs, according to the newspaper, which reported that Spicer admitted she did not tell relatives, friends or law enforcement about the abuse.

Following Mercado’s death, Spicer denied knowing his whereabouts, but when her family decided to sell the house in 2022, she told her new boyfriend about the body, and he eventually called the police, The Press-Enterprise reported.

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