A Pennsylvania man was acquitted of all charges in the murder of his wife, who disappeared 8 1/2 years ago.
On Friday, jurors acquitted 66-year-old Hap Seiders of first and third-degree murder, evidence tampering, and abuse of a corpse. The judge also ordered Seiders to be freed from prison immediately.
“Justice eventually does prevail,” defense attorney George Matangos said after the verdict. “He simply broke down. He could not believe that people finally understood everything he’s gone through.”
“It’s been more than a year and six months since he was arrested on this charge, and he’s had it hanging over him for 8 years.”
According to the Associated Press, Seiders was charged seven years after prosecutors claimed he killed his 53-year-old wife, Rabihan, and incinerated her body in a fireplace.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Courtney Hair LaRue said the couple had a “volatile” relationship that was defined by “power and control.”
In 2011, Seiders was charged with domestic violence, which prompted Rabihan to make some changes to secure her own future. Prosecutors said she put valuable coins in a safe, but eventually, Seiders, who was a coin dealer, “lured” her back in in hopes of finding the coins.
In 2012, the woman disappeared, and prosecutors argued that she was killed and burned “to bones and ashes,” citing black smoke coming from the chimney and bone fragments found in the fireplace.
But, on Friday, eight years later, Seiders was acquitted of the crime, to First Assistant District Attorney Michelle Sibert’s dismay.
“We know who did it. We know it was Hap Seiders who murdered Rabihan. We would have done nothing different in this case or in this investigation,” she said.
However, defense attorney Matangos challenged the idea that Rabihan was even dead, citing the fact that there was no DNA to link the bone fragments to the victim.
He claimed the woman used his client as a “mark” after the two met in Atlantic City, and after a “whirlwind” romance, she moved in and stole $3 million worth of Hap’s belongings, including a $1 million piece that was never recovered.
“She wasn’t a woman in trouble,” he said during the trial. “She was a woman who had a plan.”
