A former El Paso County sheriff's deputy accused of shooting his wife to death while three of the couple's four children were home has been acquitted of first-degree murder.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports jurors deliberated for three days before finding Nikolas Anthony Gianes not guilty Monday in the Oct. 16 death of Fawn Gianes.
Defense attorneys told jurors that Fawn Gianes pulled the pistol on her husband in a drunken rage and was shot during a struggle for control of the weapon.
Nikolas Gianes served as a sheriff's deputy for six years before he resigned in 2012 after a DUI. He also served in the Army Reserve, where he was deployed to combat zones three times.
