Confessed Killer Wants To Take Back Guilty Plea

Nearly a year after being sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for killing his estranged wife, a Gouverneur man wants to take back his guilty plea.

The defense states that Michael Bodah was not completely informed about the consequence of his guilty plea by the public defender.

St. Lawrence County Court Judge Jerome Richards reserved decision in the case.

Attorneys believe he will make a ruling in the next couple of weeks on whether or not to vacate the plea.

“I think it’s pretty clear from the record from the testimony that the court has heard..that the plea was knowingly and voluntarily made,” said assistant district attorney Tom Finnerty.

The defense claims Bodah had a psychological examination which indicated he committed the crime under extreme emotional distress.

His attorneys believe the exam could have been used in Bodah’s defense, but was not.

“If the district attorney had come to you and said, ‘I’m offering you a plea of 20 years to life’ and you don’t come back with, ‘Well, that’s nice because he’s not going to trial, but I think we’ve got a defense here of extreme emotional disturbance. What can you do for me now? You’ve got to come back with something,’” said defense attorney Richard Manning.

Last June, Bodah apologized at his sentencing for stabbing Renea Bodah to death with a knife during a December 28, 2006 argument.

Police said Bodah walked into a dentist’s office in Gouverneur shortly after the crime was committed and announced he had stabbed someone.

Last June, Bodah told the court it was “a horrible mistake” and he was “disgusted and appalled by the horrific act of violence I displayed.”

Bodah described his ex-wife as “a good mother” and told the court he had “spent many days and nights wishing I could take back this crime.”

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