A Lexington man convicted last month of beating his wife to death wants a new trial, citing reasons that include a missing exhibit.



Defense lawyers say shortly after jurors began deliberating the case of 49-year-old Donald Southworth, they asked to see an exhibit but that the document they were given wasn't the original. The exhibit was a "copy of divorce papers found in a trash can," the Lexington Herald-Leader reported .

Defense attorneys say in their motion for a new trial that the jury indicated it had reached a verdict before the court had a chance to explain the discrepancy and submit the actual exhibit.

Southworth was convicted of murdering 44-year-old Umi Southworth, who was found severely beaten behind her home in June 2010. She died the next day.

Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com

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