A Waterloo man who found his estranged wife dead after breaking into her home through a window has pleaded to a lesser charge for taking her purse, according to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. 57 year old Terry Townsend was prohibited from contacting his wife, 56 year old Dianthe Townsend, due to a pending Domestic Assault case. On May 30th Terry snuck into the home through a window. While there he found his wife dead so took her purse and left. Later, he told an acquaintance what he had found. That person is the one who told police. A cause of death has not been determined but police do not believe it is suspicious. They noted that she had ongoing health issues and took medication for “pass out spells”. At trial Terry’s defense argued the Burglary charge should be dropped because Dianthe died before he entered the house meaning the house would be marital property, the purse would be passed to him, and the restraining order would be moot. Terry pleaded to misdemeanor Trespass Causing Damage and was sentenced to 60 days in jail with credit for time served and $430 fine.
