Mitchell Man Pleads Not Guilty to Killing Wife

MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) — A Mitchell man accused of killing his wife has pleaded not guilty to alternate murder and manslaughter charges.

Forty-nine-year-old Donald McDougal is accused of strangling Janie McDougal in their Mitchell apartment early this month. He could face life in prison or even the death penalty if convicted at trial in December.

McDougal entered his pleas Tuesday. Judge Tim Bjorkman denied a request from the defense to reduce McDougal's $100,000 bond.

Court documents indicate McDougal told police earlier that he found his wife with a black shoestring across her neck and believed she might have hung herself.

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