By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Munising, MI – A downstate man says he did not push his wife to her death from a 140-foot-high cliff near Lake Superior. Thomas Richardson, 45, testified Tuesday that he was about 15 feet from 43-year-old Juanita Richardson when she turned from him and went over the cliff's edge at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. He is charged with Murder and Manslaughter in her June 2006 death.
The testimony came at a hearing in Munising to determine whether his statements to police should be suppressed at trial. Richardson's defense attorney says police detained and questioned him inappropriately, while prosecutors say he was free to leave at any time. A judge is expected to issue a written ruling.