Wife-killing conviction results in life sentence for Elizabeth man

ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) — A man convicted of bludgeoning and stabbing his wife during a domestic dispute has been sentenced to life in prison.

Reco Parks was convicted of murder last month by a Union County jury, following a three-week trial.

Prosecutors said the 51-year-old Parks killed 45-year-old Thya Wilson in January 2012 at their unit in the Oakwood Plaza housing complex in Elizabeth. Investigators determined that Parks stabbed and struck his wife dozens of times following an argument, then stuffed her body into a suitcase, where it sat in their bedroom for two days.

Parks then left her body outside the apartment to make it appear that she had been attacked and killed by someone else as she was coming home.

Authorities have not said what the couple was arguing about.

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