Trial in Totem Pole Death Moved to Beltrami County

INTERNATIONAL FALLS  (AP) - The trial for a man accused of using a totem pole to kill his wife will be moved out of Koochiching County.

State District Court Judge Charles LeDuc has ordered the trial be held in Beltrami County, about 115 miles away, because of pretrial publicity.

Carl Muggli is charged with premeditated first-degree murder and intentional second-degree murder in the 2010 death of his wife, Linda. She died of severe head trauma when a totem pole the couple had been carving fell on her.

The trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 14.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved)