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On tonight’s episode of CBS’s 48 Hours, correspondent Jim Axelrod and the team investigate the murder of Amy Mullis, who was found in a shed on her farm with a corn rake in her back. Her husband, Todd Mullis, has since been sentenced to life in prison, according to the Des Moines Register.
On Saturday, November 10, 2018, Amy Mullis was found dead by her son Trysten. According to CBS News, that day Amy Mullis had been experiencing dizzy spells and was going to go into the house to rest, but she had stopped to get an animal carrier out of a shed on her way in at the request of her husband Todd.
When Trystan found her, according to the report, Mullis was lying face down with a corn rake sticking out of her back and was unresponsive. Then, Todd Mullis called 911 as the family raced to the hospital.
After the 911 operator told them to pull over and wait for an ambulance, they did, according to CBS News. When the ambulance and Amy Mullis arrived at the hospital, she was pronounced dead.
Todd Mullis has since been convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Read on to learn more about the case and Todd Mullis’ trial and sentence.
Investigators Believed Mullis Stabbed His Wife With The Corn Rake
According to The Telegraph-Herald, the prosecution at the trial argued that Todd Mullis had wanted to kill his wife for years but waited until she had a medical procedure that would make it believable that she’d fallen and impaled herself on the corn rake. Court TV covered the whole trial live and described a corn rake as a tool that is kind of like a pitchfork, though it is used to pick up corn.
According to the Associated Press, a forensic pathologist ruled out an accidental death due to the fact that she had been impaled “at least twice, possibly three times.”
Evidence used by the prosecution during the trial, according to The Telegraph-Herald, included Google searches on Todd’s phone for terms like “killing unfaithful women,” “what happened to cheating spouses in historic Aztec tribes,” and “did ancient cultures kill adulterers.” He reportedly denied performing those searches.
The same article says that the defense said that someone else, not Todd Mullis, killed Amy Mullis that morning.
Todd Mullis Was Found Guilty And Sentenced to Life in Prison
Todd Mullis told investigators that he had confronted his wife over affairs that she had, but he said that he was innocent in her murder. Originally, his son told police that his father had only been out of his sight for around two minutes on the day his mother died, but he later said he wasn’t sure if that timeline was correct, according to The Telegraph Herald. He was 13 years old at the time of his mother’s murder.
Jerry Frasher, the ex-lover of Amy Mullis, testified at court that Amy had been very afraid of her husband, the AP reported. He said that she believed if he found out about the affair she would “disappear.”
The jury ultimately found Mullis guilty of first-degree murder, according to Boston 25 News.
Mullis maintains his innocence.
“This is supposed to be America where you have a fair chance of proving your innocence,” Todd Mullis said at the sentencing hearing according to KWWL. “I thought it was innocent until proven guilty. I feel this was the other way around.”
The Des Moines Register reported on September 5, 2020 that Todd Mullis was sentenced to life in prison nearly a year after he had been convicted of the crime. The sentencing had been postponed repeatedly due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Now, Mullis and his team of lawyers have 30 days to file an appeal, which is likely in this case, KWWL reported.
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