A Mays Landing woman accused of killing her husband will remain jailed after a judge ruled her self-defense claims were not enough to overcome the presumption of detention.
The defense has alleged it was self-defense during an assault by her long-abusive husband. But the state claims the victim was naked and watching television when his wife went and got a gun and then shot him dead.
An appellate court disagreed.
But even with those considerations, the judge again ruled Tuesday that the defense's arguments were not enough to release Wigglesworth.
"Defendant had time to cool off and choose a different path of behavior rather than leaving the room, retrieving a gun, returning to the bedroom and shooting her husband," the judge said in her latest decision.
Under bail reform, detention hearings rather than monetary bail are used to determine whether a defendant is held while their case goes through the courts. Murder is one of the few charges where the presumption is for detention, putting the burden on the defense rather than the prosecution.
The judge looked deeper into the self-defense claims this time, noting that they were made only through defense attorneys Melissa Rosenblum and Jonathan Diego and not by the defendant herself to authorities.
"No where in (the affidavit of probable cause) is there an assertion by the defendant of self-defense nor was the court provided with a police report stating such assertions," Wild noted.
While the defense said Wigglesworth stated "at least six times to officers that there was a fight or altercation," it appeared she "did not elaborate for police what that fight or altercation entailed."
Instead, Wigglesworth called police to the home and told them she shot her husband, according to the state's evidence.
He was found in the bedroom along with the handgun.
There were also pictures of bruising the defendant had at the time of her arrest, Wild agreed. But she couldn't be sure how they got there.
"There is no way of knowing how or when those bruises occurred," the judge said. "Without medical testimony or other such support, the court would be speculating as to the defensive nature of the bruises."
The state also presented that "the defendant stated that she went and got the gun and then came back and shot him," Wild said. "Also, the state asserts he was naked in bed watching television at time he was shot.
"To this court, an assertion of self-defense rings hallow in this circumstance," she added.
Wigglesworth's attorneys also presented 14 character letters to the judge. But only one spoke to the violence in the Wigglesworths' marriage, an affidavit from their son.
"But he does not recount what specifically happened between his parents on Dec. 25, 2022, thus the court finds that neither the letters nor the affidavits contribute to the evidence of self-defense," the judge said.
Wigglesworth is does not pose a risk of fleeing or attempting to obstruct justice, Wild said. But there is a danger to the community.
"She is no longer a threat to the deceased victim," the judge acknowledged. "But this court is concerned that a person who would mortally shoot a person lying in bed naked would have no compunction in behaving in an antisocial and criminal matter in the community at large."
Wigglesworth, who attended the hearing via video from jail, shook her head no and the hung her head down as the judge spoke.
She will now remain in the Cape May County jail, where she has been since Feb. 7, the day after her last court appearance.
It was not immediately clear why she had been moved to a different jail.
