Man who killed his wife gets life term

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 9:34 a.m.

A middle-aged man who shot and killed his wife, then confessed to a priest and the police, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with parole possible after 40 years.

Frank Marques, 45, was given the minimum sentence for his crime, first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, by District Judge Sally Loehrer.

Marques' lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey Banks, argued that a longer sentence was pointless because the possibility of parole wasn't realistic for someone of Marques' age.

No third parties spoke at the hearing. Prosecutor Pamela Weckerly argued for a life sentence without parole, saying Marques had a pattern of not being able to control his temper and "has not expressed any remorse."

Marques was convicted in August of the murder of 35-year-old Candace Weckhorst, who had left him 11 days before.

Marques, with a full head of gray hair and a cursive tattoo of the name "Candy" on his neck, apologized briefly, saying, "I want to say I'm sorry to the Weckhorst family and kids."

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