A court hearing was set for Tuesday morning in the murder case of a Northeast Philadelphia man accused of a strangling his wife and leaving her body at a local park — a crime police said he confessed to committing.
Christopher Murray was due in court but Judge Benjamin Lerner pushed the pretrial conference back to next month to give the defense more time to prepare, according to court records.
Murray, 49, told investigators he killed his wife Connie after an argument. The 46-year-old mother of two was strangled in August and her body was left at Pennypack Park.
Murray initially told the Philadelphia Daily News that her death was "devastating." He called her a beautiful woman, loving mother and fabulous friend.
According to investigators, there were ongoing domestic issues between the husband and wife that culminated in the deadly argument.
Investigators said Connie left her Tolbut Street home the night of Aug. 4 to go for a walk. While she was walking, Murray allegedly followed her while driving a silver Taurus. He pulled up beside her on Willets Road and the two began to argue, according to police.
"She sticks her head in the car, says something and she goes back on her walk," said Philadelphia Police Lt. Philip Riehl.
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Police said Murray continued to follow her and got out of his vehicle on Holme Avenue. The husband then met his wife at a bench area at the park where another argument ensued.
"She went up there voluntarily to talk to him about whatever was going on and things went bad," Riehl said.
According to law enforcement sources, Christopher Murray told police his wife began to slap him which caused him to snap.
Murray remains jailed without bail, according to court records.
