Closing arguments complete in former Wake County teacher murder trial
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Closing arguments were made Monday in the trial of a Wake County teacher accused of murdering her husband.
Joanna Madonna admitted to killing her husband Jose Perez two years ago, but said it was in self-defense.
During closing arguments, her defense attorney reiterated its case, saying Madonna never wanted her husband dead.
"She knew what kind of dude he was ... married him anyway," Deonte Thomas said.
However, the prosecution picked apart Madonna's statements during their closing arguments - calling her testimony "evil fairy tales."
Last week, Madonna was grilled by prosecutors when she took the witness stand about her relationship with her husband before she stabbed him to death. Madonna testified she didn't plan on killing Perez, but she had to - to protect herself.
She told jurors on Father's Day weekend in 2013, Perez pulled out a gun when she told him she wanted a divorce and shot himself in the face and arm.
She also testified that she was taking him to the VA hospital for treatment when they got into a struggle and Perez allegedly pulled out a knife.
However, Perez's doctor previously told the court that he was too frail and sickly to hurt anyone.
On Wednesday, Madonna said her relationship with Perez started off platonic but quickly grew into something more, despite her finding Perez unattractive.
Madonna described in depth the lies she said Perez told her before and during the marriage: that he had terminal cancer, had property in Puerto Rico he could sell to buy her and her three daughters a house in New York, hidden financial woes, and so on. She said eventually she uncovered the deceit, but stayed with him, saying she loved him. Anytime she talked about leaving, she told the jury Perez would threaten to kill himself.
Finally in June 2013, shortly after Madonna said she discovered he was cheating with a woman in Florida through a Facebook message she sent to Perez, she made up her mind to leave for good.
The day of the murder, Madonna said she drove to South Carolina to visit her nephew who had cancer; he was a weapon enthusiast and insisted she take one of his guns with her when she left.
Once back home in Wake County, Madonna said she planned to take Perez on a drive to his AA sponsor's house, and would tell him then she was getting a divorce.
"I told him that I knew he was drinking, I knew he was cheating, I was done with the lying and this time I'm not backing down this time," she told the court.
That's when Madonna said Perez began to panic, telling her he was going to have a heart attack and she needed to pull over.
