Joanna Roberta Madonna, 46, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her husband Jose Manuel Perez, 64. Modonna admitted to killing Perez and claimed to have had to use a pistol and knife to kill him in defense of herself. Police said she left his body lying beside a ditch in northern Wake County NC, and when confronted initially, told investigators she didn't know where her husband was. In an affidavit for a warrant to search the couple's home for a second time Wake County sheriff's investigator Brian Gay said that interviews with family, friends and close associates led detectives to discover that Madonna was suspicious that Perez was having an affair. The charge of first-degree murder, described on the arrest warrant as having been committed 'malice and aforethought,' has stunned friends of the couple. |