Glynn County murder trial scheduled to begin today

BRUNSWICK - A Glynn County man accused of fatally shooting his wife and burying her body in their front yard is expected in court Monday. <br> <br> William David Tatro, 52, was charged with malice murder in the death of his 53-year-old wife, Yukie Tatro. He is accused of shooting his wife, then using a backhoe to bury her body. Police said he concealed the grave with plants and fresh mulch. He later filed a missing persons report. <br> <br> Police discovered her decomposed body Oct. 5, 2000, buried beneath palmetto bushes, small water oaks and blackberry brambles. The grave was within 100 feet of the front door of the house, officials reported. <br> <br> Yukie Tatro died of a gunshot to the back of the head, according to an autopsy done at the state crime laboratory. The death was ruled a homicide. <br> <br> Initially, her husband told detectives he&#39;d accidentally shot his wife with a .9 mm semiautomatic pistol, then used a backhoe that was parked next door to dig the grave after panicking. <br> <br> Police became suspicious when they found blood on a golf cart at the $300,000 home south of Brunswick. The couple was married 29 years and had two grown children. <br> <br> Prosecutors, in court documents, say Yukie Tatro was slain after she sought legal advice about getting a divorce after discovering that her husband was romantically involved with a California woman who he&#39;d met over the Internet. <br> <br> Assistant District Attorney Keith Higgins described Angela Castillo of Rialto, Calif., as a ``necessary and material witness&#39;&#39; for the state, according to a petition asking the court to allow her to be brought to Brunswick to testify. <br> <br> William Tatro, a project manager for a Brunswick architectural firm, has been jailed without bail since his arrest Oct. 4, 2000. He has pleaded not guilty to single counts each of malice murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, concealing the death of another person and making a false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of a political subdivision. <br> <br> Defense attorney Robert Crowe has filed a motion seeking to move the trial out of the county due to pretrial publicity. <br>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/195369