Authorities allege that a Wisconsin man accused of blowing up his home to cover up killing his wife gave conflicting statements to police before admitting he shot her.
Fifty-nine-year-old Steven Pirus, of Madison, was charged Thursday with first-degree intentional homicide and arson in the death of his wife, Lee Ann Pirus. He remains jailed on $1 million bail after his initial court appearance.
In the criminal complaint, authorities say Pirus first told police he last saw his wife alive when he left for work on Sept. 13. Then he claimed she killed herself. Eventually he admitted shooting her weeks earlier, but claimed she begged him to do it.
They allege that Pirus had a picture of a Russian woman in a "seductive pose" on his phone screen and that he had sent her money.
