Utah doctor charged in wife’s death faces abuse case

SALT LAKE CITY — A Pleasant Grove doctor charged in the killing of his wife five years ago will be tried in a separate unrelated sex abuse case.

Dr. Martin MacNeill had long been under suspicion by Utah County authorities in the slaying. Authorities said he killed her with a lethal combination of drugs.

But it wasn’t until his release from a federal prison in Texas for fraud earlier this year that prosecutors moved to file murder and obstruction of justice charges against MacNeill. He has consistently denied having anything to do with his wife’s death.

This week, the Utah Court of Appeals ruled the doctor can be tried on unrelated charges of sexual abuse in a case that was initially dismissed in 2008, The Salt Lake Tribune reported (bit.ly/VjHeQN).

Utah County prosecutors charged MacNeill with forcible sexual abuse and witness tampering in 2007. Authorities said a female relative accused him of abuse, a charge he also has repeatedly denied.

A judge later dismissed the case, but prosecutors re-filed the charges in 2009. MacNeill’s attorneys appealed, arguing it would mean double jeopardy. But the appeals court ruled he could be re-tried because the previous judge never stated whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice.

MacNeill, 56, is set for a preliminary hearing on the murder charge next month.

Michele MacNeill’s body was found in a bathtub in 2007 at the couple’s Pleasant Grove home. The doctor’s attorney, Randy Spencer, said his client denies wrongdoing and will fight the charges.