California man who propped dead wife on couch as kids opened Christmas presents convicted of murder

A California man was convicted of second-degree murder after killing his wife and propping up her dead body on the couch as his stepchildren opened their Christmas presents in 2011, Windsor Star reports.

William Wallace, 39, was found guilty of beating his wife, 26-year-old Zazell Preston, to death on Christmas Day.

Wallace had previously spent 18 days in jail for domestic abuse after pleading guilty to beating and threatening to kill a woman in 2008.

Preston's daughters, ages three and eight, as well as the couple's seven-week-old baby were all present in the family's apartment in Anaheim when the murder took place. Wallace was found to have murdered Preston not long after midnight on Christmas Day.

Later that morning, Wallace propped his deceased wife's body on the couch as he watched the kids open their Christmas presents in front of the dead body. Wallace videotaped the opening of the Christmas presents.

District Attorney Todd Spitzer described the murder as "a heart-wrenching tragedy" upon the announcement of the verdict.

"The heartbreak is only exacerbated by the fact that her children witness much of the violence and were forced to celebrate Christmas in the presence of their dead mother," Spitzer added.

Wallace's defense argued that he did not intend to murder his wife, and that many of the bruises she had on her were self-sustained injuries which resulted from repeatedly falling while heavily drinking on Christmas Eve. They disputed the idea that injuries caused by Wallace were fatal for Preston, pointing to a lack of evidence.

Wallace is expected to be sentenced on June 4.