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The San Diego Union-Tribune
Murrieta man faces murder with special circumstances charge in wife's death
3:38 p.m. May 27, 2008
MURRIETA – A Murrieta man suspected of killing his wife to collect more than $1 million in life insurance proceeds was charged Tuesday with murder and a special circumstance allegation that could result in a death sentence or life imprisonment.
Kelle Lee Jarka, 39, is accused of killing his 40-year-old spouse, Isabelle, on April 28 in the bedroom of their home in the 39000 block of Tamarisk Street, said Murrieta police Lt. Dennis Vrooman.
She suffered fatal head injuries, Vrooman said.
Jarka, who is represented by the Public Defender's Office, made his initial court appearance Tuesday but did not enter a plea to one count of murder, with the special circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Judith Clark agreed to a defense request to postpone the defendant's arraignment until June 4.
Weeks before his wife's death, Jarka had taken out life insurance policies on her totaling more than $1 million, and investigators believe he set up the crime scene to make it look like a burglary gone awry, Vrooman said.
Following a nearly monthlong investigation, Jarka was arrested Thursday by detectives as he sat in Family Court, awaiting a custody hearing to get his children back, the lieutenant said.
According to police, at least one of the couple's children – they have a 12-year-old daughter and a 7-month-old son – had been staying with relatives.
The day Isabelle Jarka died, her husband told police he had gone out early that morning to a store, and upon his return found the side door to the garage forced open and his wife dead upstairs.
Jarka's initial call to emergency dispatch was to report a burglary, and he waited 26 seconds before revealing his wife may have been murdered, Vrooman said.
During the police investigation, Jarka told officers he had gone to pick up baby formula, even though plenty of formula was found in the house, and his other statements were inconsistent with evidence collected at the scene, Vrooman said.
Neighbors said the Jarkas usually kept to themselves, except when Isabelle joined others in the couple's Jehovah's Witnesses congregation to knock on doors in the neighborhood.
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