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A Beltsville man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the 2008 strangulation of his wife, prosecutors announced.

Spencer Ellsworth Chase, 49, who formerly lived in Upper Marlboro, was found guilty of first-degree murder of his wife, Antoinette Renee Chase, in June after a previous trial ended in a mistrial when the jury did not reach a verdict.

Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Beverly J. Woodard sentenced him to life in prison.

According to court documents, Chase called 911 at about noon on May 20, 2008, saying he had been out running errands and came home to find his wife lying face down on the floor with an extension cord around her neck.

Five days later, investigators found her purse, a bloody extension cord and other items in a storm drain behind a Glenn Dale shopping center. DNA testing found that blood on the cord belonged to both Antoinette and Spencer Chase, who was arrested Sept. 22, 2008.

This was not the first time Chase was accused of harming his wife. According to court documents, she brought domestic violence charges against him in September 2007, just eight months before her death. She later chose to have the case dismissed.

"This was a violent crime that tormented the victim's family members for two years," said Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D) in a statement. "Though the defendant claimed innocence, the exceptional investigative work of police detective Benjamin Brown enabled the state to prove guilt and thoroughly destroy the defendant's alibis. It is a sentenced deserved."

Spencer Chase's attorney, Douglas Irminger, could not be immediately reached for comment.

anoble@gazette.net