New York economist's trial begins for the 1982 ax murder of his wife

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A New York man's murder trial started Monday nearly forty years after his wife was found in their bed with an ax embedded in her forehead in their home.

Prosecutors say that James Krauseneck Jr., 69, bashed Cathleen Krauseneck, 29, in the head with an ax after she discovered that he had not completed his PhD as he had claimed, according to local newspaper the Democrat & Chronicle.

The slaying, known as "the Brighton Ax Murder," inspired the 2021 Netflix horror film "Things Heard & Seen."

The couple had a 3-year-old daughter, Sara, at the time, and Krauseneck had been working at the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, a city near the Canadian border.

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A combination of economist James Krauseneck's booking photo and a family portrait of his slain wife Cathleen Krauseneck and their daughter, Sara. Krauseneck's trial is underway for the alleged ax murder of his wife in 1982. (Facebook/Brighton Police Department)

Krauseneck, who previously taught economics at Lynchburg College in Virginia, initially told police that when he arrived home from work Feb. 19, 1982, he found the garage door open, glass on the floor and his wife dead with ax sticking out of her head. Their daughter was unharmed in another room.

He scooped up the little girl and rushed next door. The neighbor later told police that Krauseneck had "a look of terror on his face" and seemed unable to speak, People magazine reported. 

But investigators allege that his display of emotion was all an act.  Police believe Krauseneck "drove an ax into [Cathleen's] head while she slept," according to Law&Crime. He then left for work, leaving his daughter alone with her mother's corpse the entire day.

The ax came from the couple's garage and had been wiped clean of fingerprints.

The Rochester home where James Krauseneck Jr. and his then-wife Cathleen Krauseneck lived in 1982 when he allegedly smashed an ax into her forehead. His trial began Monday.  (Fox Rochester)

Krauseneck would go on to marry three more times before he was arrested at his vacation home in Arizona in 2019 for his first wife's murder. 

A jury was selected for the cold case on Wednesday, and the panel is scheduled to return to court Tuesday for opening statements.

Brighton Police Chief David Catholdi said in announcing the charges that detectives spent "thousands" of hours investigating yet never found any evidence that another person had been in the home. 

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"DNA, fingerprints -- or the lack thereof -- can speak volumes," Catholdi said at the time. "You would expect DNA evidence to be in that home. He lived there. What we did not find was any DNA that belonged to anybody else that was in that home. I think that speaks volumes."

James Krauseneck Jr. and Cathleen Krauseneck at their wedding in 1974. Krauseneck is on trial for allegedly murdering his wife with an ax in 1982. (Facebook)

Krauseneck's daughter has often appeared in court with him. A judge ordered her not to attend the trial as she may be called as a defense witness. 

The economist's lawyers have denied that their client fought with his wife over his degree before her murder. 

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The team also blamed police for not pursuing Edward Laraby, a convicted rapist, who confessed to the slaying of Cathleen Krauseneck and another woman before he died in prison.