WHITE PLAINS, New York – A New York jeweler who admitted incinerating his wife in an oil drum says he made up the story and never expected authorities to believe it.
Werner Lippe testified Friday at his murder retrial. A previous trial ended with a hung jury.
No trace of Lippe's wife has been found since she disappeared two years ago.
The 68-year-old told the jury that it is impossible to completely burn a body including bones and teeth. He said he told the story -- to a friend wearing a police wire -- to get investigators off his back.
He said he thought he would be exonerated when his story was disproved.
Prosecutors claimed Lippe could have disposed of his wife's bones and teeth with the acids he kept in his home workshop.
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