Ex-NY prof charged with strangling wife, leaving body in her ‘favorite place’

Ex-NY prof pleads not guilty in wife’s death

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A former associate professor at Rochester Institute of Technology has pleaded not guilty to a charge that he strangled his wife and left her body at a park about nine miles from their home.

Fifty-seven-year-old Timothy Wells was arraigned Wednesday on a second-degree murder charge in the Nov. 30 death of 58-year-old Christine Sevilla, a former instructor at the school and a photographer, author and environmental activist. Wells was ordered held without bail.

Authorities say they found Wells on the night of Sevilla’s death crying inconsolably on a parking lot at Mendon Ponds Park. They say he told them he left his wife’s body in her favorite spot in the park. His lawyer said Wednesday it was premature to comment on the case.