Virginia man convicted of murder for strangling wife

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A Virginia man has been convicted of murder and now faces up to life in prison for strangling his wife with his hands and some pajama pants.

At the close of a weeklong bench trial, a judge on Friday convicted William Khine, 42, of murder in the 2017 killing of 39-year-old Khin Shwe, The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reported. Lawyers on both sides of the case had agreed that Circuit Court Judge Rufus Banks Jr. would decide the case instead of a jury, which Virginia law allows. Sentencing is set for June 15.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Shwe’s killing was deliberate and premeditated. Khine’s public defenders contended that he was legally insane at the time of the slaying, and that Banks should find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

Police found Shwe’s body inside the couple’s apartment in Chesapeake on March 10, 2017. Khine called 911 and said he and his wife had been arguing, and “somebody in his mind” was telling him to kill her, according to search warrant affidavits. Prosecutor David Mick argued Khine killed his wife because Shwe was going to divorce him. The killing did not happen spontaneously or impulsively, he said.

A court-appointed forensic evaluator declared that Khine was experiencing acute psychosis at the time of the killing.

Khine is a native of Myanmar who has lived in the U.S. for two decades. Interpreters translated the trial proceedings for him.

The Associated Press