Husband accused of strangling wife in shower can use her life insurance to pay for defense attorney, court rules

A Colorado man who’s on trial for the 2015 strangulation death of his wife is allowed to use her life insurance payout to fund his defense, the state’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday.

According to the Denver Post, the Denver Medical Examiner was unable to determine Stacy Feldman’s cause of death, resulting in Robert Feldman, now 55, receiving $751,910 from her life insurance policy. In 2018, Robert Feldman was criminally charged for allegedly strangling his wife in the shower.

The newspaper reported that the legal guardian to the couple’s two children claimed ownership to the money and argued in probate court that the money should be frozen and preserved for the children.

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Robert Feldman had reportedly planned to use $550,000 to pay for his defense and had paid some of the money to the law firm Haddon, Morgan & Foreman. In court documents, the guardian cited the “slayer statute,” which prevents someone from profiting from their crimes.

The Colorado Supreme Court reversed the probate court’s decision, which had ordered the law firm to hold the money in a trust until the conclusion of Robert Feldman’s murder trial. The Denver Post noted that the case hinged on whether the probate court had the jurisdiction to freeze money in the law firm’s account.

KDVR reported that defense attorney David Kaplan rejoined Robert Feldman’s legal team in light of Monday’s ruling. An arraignment is scheduled for October while the trial is slated to begin in April.

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[Featured image: Robert Feldman/Denver District Attorney’s Office]