Man convicted in wife's death seeks new trial

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A Lexington man convicted last month of beating his wife to death wants a new trial, citing reasons that include a missing exhibit.

Defense lawyers say shortly after jurors began deliberating the case of 49-year-old Donald Southworth, they asked to see an exhibit but that the document they were given wasn't the original. The exhibit was a "copy of divorce papers found in a trash can," the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

Defense attorneys say in their motion for a new trial that the jury indicated it had reached a verdict before the court had a chance to explain the discrepancy and submit the actual exhibit.

Southworth was convicted of murdering 44-year-old Umi Southworth, who was found severely beaten behind her home in June 2010. She died the next day.