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N.J. man put pig mask on dead wife's head after stabbing her 84 times

"This happened while he was defending himself," Anthony Novellino's attorney claimed.

By Matt Bradwell

MORRISVILLE, N.J., July 23 (UPI) -- A New Jersey man has been convicted of murder for stabbing his ex-wife 84 times and putting a pig mask on her dead body.

Anthony Novellino claimed he acted in self-defense when he attacked Judith Novellino, merely over-reacting by stabbing her nearly one hundred times and defacing her corpse with a prop.

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"This happened while he was defending himself," Novellino's attorney Michael Priarone argued in court.

"His response was a rage. It's criminal, but it's not murder."

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood disagreed, pointing out that Novellino washed the murder weapon, cleaned his bloody shoes and placed a pig mask on his ex-wife's head after killing her "to make a statement about how he felt about her."

"Ladies and gentlemen, 84 times. We know there were 84 stab wounds and no one else was there."

The jury agreed with Calderwood and convicted Novellino of murder. The 66-year-old faces a minimum of 30 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 12.

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