Wife Disappeared After Receiving Inheritance; Husband Faces Judge

A man brought back to San Diego from Hawaii to face charges stemming from the death of his wife eight years ago in the Anza-Borrego Desert pleaded guilty today to voluntary manslaughter.

Anthony Edward Simoneau, 46, faces 11 years in prison when he’s sentenced April 30 at the El Cajon Courthouse, according to court officials.

Simoneau had faced a murder charge that could have brought him 25 years to life.

The body of Fumiko Ogawa Simoneau, 41, was found Jan. 20, 2007, near the Bow Willow Campground but was not identified until June 2011, based on DNA evidence.

The defendant was arrested last year in Hawaii, where he was working as a tour guide on Oahu.

Simoneau filed for divorce in 2002, but withdrew the court papers when his wife got an inheritance from relatives in Japan, according to published reports. Her family lost contact with her in early January 2007, and he left San Diego later that year.

--City News Service; Image Patch Archive

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