A man has been sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison after killing his own wife. He committed the murder after he found that she had strangled and killed their four-year-old son, and was attempting to kill his seven-year-old daughter.

The man had gone out for the night and had left his wife at him with their two children. However, the tragedy unfolded when he arrived back home to find his son dead; strangled to death by his wife. He also found his daughter with a scarf wrapped tightly round her neck and initially thought she was dead.

He found his wife with a rope around her own neck preparing to commit suicide. Reports have indicated that he flew into a fit of rage and hit his wife over the head with a flashlight and killed her.

Christopher Smeltzer, 39, pleaded guilty to killing his wife Mara Pappalardo.

Smeltzer, 39, was given the opportunity to address the court before his sentencing. He said: “When I walked into the room, as soon as I saw my son, I knew something was very wrong.”

"I knew he was dead. And I lost all control. Enraged, I struck my wife. I did something that was not going to bring my son back."

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Reports have said that his wife was paranoid and convinced that her husband and mother-in-law were plotting to steal away her kids.