Judge Rules Oakland Locksmith Competent to Stand Trial for His Wife's Death

Oakland, CA— A judge ruled Thursday that a locksmith is competent to stand trial on a murder charge for his wife's death at the couple's home in Oakland's Montclair district two years ago in what the locksmith claimed was an accidental fall.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman said he based his decision on reports by two psychiatrists who examined 55-year-old Joseph Bontempo and said he is competent.

Goodman then reinstated criminal proceedings against Bontempo and scheduled hearings on pretrial motions in his case to begin on July 6.

Bontempo's trial, which had been scheduled to begin earlier this year but was delayed after his attorney said there were questions about his mental competence, is expected to begin in late July.

Bontempo is charged in the death of his wife, 57-year-old Laurie Wolfe, at their home in the 6700 block of Saroni Drive on July 6, 2014. Bontempo and Wolfe were partners for 20 years and were married for 12 years before her death.

Oakland police said Bontempo called them at about 6:30 p.m. that day to report that Wolfe had died after slipping on the stairs of their home.

But prosecutor Laura Passaglia said at Bontempo's preliminary hearing last year that veteran pathologist Dr. Thomas Rogers ruled that Wolfe's death wasn't an accident and instead was caused by blunt force trauma and injuries to her central nervous system.

Passaglia said Wolfe had seven lacerations to the back of her head and bruises to her back as well as defensive wounds on her hands.

Passaglia said the quantity and pattern of Wolfe's blood that was found on the bottom five steps of the stairway indicates that she died as the result of an intentional assault, not a fall, because it would have required a large amount of force to generate that much blood.

Bontempo's former lawyer Ed Swanson said at the preliminary hearing that the prosecution didn't establish a motive for Bontempo to kill Wolfe and there was no evidence of any issues between the pair.

Judge Gloria Rhynes, who presided over the hearing, agreed that a motive hadn't been established but said it wasn't legally necessary for the prosecution to prove one.

However, Rhynes said a factor might have been the fact that Wolfe had a $5 million estate and didn't have a will, although she admitted she doesn't know if that's why Wolfe was killed.

By Bay City News

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