Update, December 7, 1:41 p.m.: The arraignment of Paul Marshal Curry, a 54-year-old Kansas building inspector accused of poisoning his wife of two years in San Clemente in 1994 to collect a $400,000 insurance claim, has been delayed until Jan. 14.
Meanwhile, officials in Salina, Kansas, say Curry managed to get hired as a city building official years ago because background checks do not reveal subjects of ongoing investigations. Curry had been suspected of murdering Linda Curry with a large dose of nicotine since the beginning of the Orange County Sheriff's Department homicide probe.
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But investigators were not able to finish building a case that would result in Curry's indictment until early November, the OCSD explains in an Orange County Register report.
A Salina TV news station, which has the scoop on the building-inspector angle, quotes Salina City Manager Jason Gage saying the city is seeking a new building official to replace Curry.
The attorney for the accused asked for the arraignment delay. Curry was extradited to Orange County last Thursday. He'll wait it out in the Orange County Jail until at least his next court date. Curry could get life without the possibility of parole if convicted.
Original Post, November 10, 7:46 a.m.: A Salina, Kansas, man faces an extradition hearing today as he has been arrested and charged in the cold case murder of his wife in San Clemente 16 years ago.
Paul Marshal Curry, 54, is accused of poisoning his wife of two years, Linda Curry, for a $400,000 life insurance payoff. He faces life in prison with the possibility of parole if convicted of the 1994 murder.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office statement on the case follows:
November 9, 2010
HUSBAND ARRESTED IN KANSAS FOR 1994 POISINING-MURDER FOR FINANCIAL GAIN OF WIFE IN SAN CLEMENTE
SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) filed special
circumstance murder charges today in a cold case against a husband for
poisoning his wife for financial gain in 1994. Paul Marshal Curry, 54,
Salina, KA, is charged with one felony count of special circumstances
murder for financial gain with a sentencing enhancement for murder by
poisoning. If convicted, the defendant faces a minimum sentence of life
in state prison without the possibility of parole. The charges make the
defendant ineligible for bail. The defendant will face an extradition
hearing in Kansas tomorrow to determine when he will be extradited from
Kansas to Orange County to face the murder charges. The date and time of
his arraignment are to be determined.
Late on the night of June 9, 1994, Curry is accused of poisoning his
wife of two years, Linda Curry. Curry is accused of calling 911 and
telling emergency personnel that the victim was in bed and not
breathing. Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) officers responded
to the scene.
Curry is accused of collecting $400,000 from his wife's life insurance
policies. At the time of the crime, Curry was suspected and OCSD
investigated the case but it went cold.
In 2007, OCDA and OCSD began reinvestigating the case. As a result of
further investigation and newly developed evidence that was not
available at the time of the crime, Curry was arrested today in Kansas
by OCSD officers. He will face extradition proceedings tomorrow.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is
encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Helen
Moreno at (714) 347-8492.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.