Minnesota Twins: Former Twins minor leaguer confesses to murder
A former Minnesota Twins minor leaguer accepted a plea deal on Tuesday to admit to murdering his wife.
In a week of bad news for Minnesota Twins players, this story out of the bay area in California takes the cake in bizarre.
Former Twins minor league pitcher John Tercheria accepted a plea deal Tuesday to admit to the brutal beating death of his wife in August of 2016 with a hammer. The plea deal will sentence the 71 year-old Tercheria to 17 years and 4 months, though he could end up serving up to 20% less time with good behavior.
The case has been tremendously bizarre due to the public nature by which the turns have taken in the case. Tercheria initially entered a “Not Guilty” plea, and the circumstances around the case have been very public due to Tercheria’s community standing.
Tercheria owned a construction company, and he played competitive senior league softball. He was elected to the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Linda Tercheria was found beaten to death with a hammer in August of 2016. She had received more than 20 blows to the head.
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The case has taken odd turns as the defense insisted that their star witness was a woman who claimed to be having an active affair with Tercheria. The defense has stated that this woman was extorting money from Tercheria.
The defense has also stated that due to dementia and health issues that Tercheria had been taking steroids to counter the effects of these issues. He had been reportedly showing odd behavior that friends and family noted before the murder took place.
While the defense did not deny the dementia, they stated that Tercheria was in his full mind at the time of the crime and knew what he was doing.
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Tercheria played one season for the Twins minor league season in 1968, making 5 appearances, 2 starts, throwing 10 innings, with a 10.80 ERA, 2.50 WHIP, and a 15/4 BB/K ratio.