UPDATE: Ului Teulilo found guilty of murdering his wife in 2018 | News

WATERVILLE – A Douglas County jury took just under two hours today to find a 74-year-old Rock Island man guilty of beating his wife to death in their mobile home in 2018.

Ului Lakepa Teulilo was found guilty late Friday morning of the premeditated and suspected murder of 68-year-old Peggy Teulilo, who was found dead in her bedroom with multiple skull fractures.

The jury of seven men and five women found Teulilo guilty of acting with premeditation and willful intent in the murder of his wife. He served more than six years in prison while his trial was stalled by multiple appeals and the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Douglas County Sheriff's deputy found Peggy's lifeless body on July 25, 2018, a day after she told friends she was afraid of her husband's violent tendencies and wanted to leave him. She died of multiple head injuries, and an autopsy found evidence of strangulation and five broken ribs.

She had reported incidents of threats and domestic violence from Ului in calls to the RiverCom emergency call centre on July 24 and in May of the same year. A friend who had employed Peggy as a home care worker for a relative called the police after she failed to show up for work on July 25.

When police contacted him that day with news that his wife had died, Teulilo told them he believed his wife was at work. He admitted to threatening her the night before.

Friday's verdict followed Teulilo's own testimony Thursday morning in which he said he injured Peggy in self-defense during a domestic dispute he could not clearly remember. Teulilo testified for about 45 minutes Thursday and was questioned by his attorney, Richard Gilliland.

Prosecutor Gordon Edgar said Teulilo had previously made a similar claim of self-defense in a phone call from prison while in custody.

Teulilo's sentencing is scheduled for October 22. He is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.