The Latest: Ex-prosecutor not guilty t in wife’s death

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Latest on the trial of former Illinois prosecutor Curtis Lovelace(all times local):

4 p.m.

A former assistant state’s attorney and University of Illinois football captain Curtis Lovelace has been acquitted in his second murder trial for the Valentine’s Day 2006 death of his first wife.

The jury delivered its verdict a little over two hours after closing arguments. Lovelace and members of his family burst into tears after the verdict was read.

Lovelace was arrested in 2014 on charges he used a pillow to suffocate 38-year-old Cory Lovelace. Lovelace claimed he discovered his wife dead after he dropped their children off at school. His first trial on the murder charge ended with a deadlocked jury.

Lovelace’s defence team claimed Cory Lovelace died of natural causes tied to liver disease.

Lovelace’s second trial was moved from Adams County, Illinois, to Sangamon County on a change of venue request.

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3 p.m.

Final arguments have been given in the retrial of a former Illinois prosecutor charged with murder in the 2006 death of his first wife.

Special prosecutor David Robinson on Friday summarized the evidence against former Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Curtis Lovelace, who is accused in the death of Cory Lovelace.

Robinson told the jury of six men and six women that they know what type man Lovelace is. He contended evidence presented at trial shows “he’s the guy who almost got away with murder.”

In his closing, defence attorney Jon Loevy referenced an email from a forensic pathologist to Detective Adam Gibson that said it was beyond a reasonable doubt Cory Lovelace wasn’t suffocated.

Lovelace was arrested in 2014 and accused of using a pillow to suffocate his wife. His first trial ended with a deadlocked jury.